‘Fanny Price’s Tea Party’ peeps into Jane’s world beyond the balls and bonnets
To mark the 250th anniversary of her birth, a new film celebrating the world of Jane Austen has been produced by the University of Winchester.
The short movie, ‘Fanny Price’s Tea Party’, is the first drama to be shot in Jane’s home in the Hampshire village of Chawton where she wrote her novels.
It was made by University of Winchester students who graduated from the School of Creative Performance and Production (SCPP) this summer under the direction of Rob Ferrin (Deputy Head of SCPP).
The cast was made up of students from the School of Humanities (SoH) and School of Performing Arts with Helen Grime (Head of School) responsible for the casting.
The film is part of a wider project devised by Christina Welch, Reader in Theology, Religion & Philosophy at the University, and Lizzie Dunford, the director of the Jane Austen House Museum (JAH) with the aim of showing how globally connected Jane Austen was and to recover lost voices from the Regency period.
The film, written by alumna Bethany Smith with the aid of Christina and Lizzie, imagines a tea party attended by three characters from Mansfield Park – Fanny Price, Susan Price, and Mrs Norris. They are joined by a character inspire by Jane’s real-life sister-in-law Frances Palmer, who was married to Jane’s brother Charles (a key inspiration for William Price in Mansfield Park).
A fifth character, Betsy the maid, is the film’s narrator and gives voice to some of the hidden aspects of Jane’s world where servants are seen but not heard.
Christina explained that she and Lizzie wanted to celebrate the Austen anniversary with a project which looked beyond balls, bonnets and brooding Mr Darcys.
“People think of Jane as this isolated country girl but she was connected to the wider world and world events through her family, particularly her two brothers who were in the Navy,” said Christina.
Lizzie said: “It has been such a pleasure to work with the University of Winchester on this project and to provide a unique and storied space for students to test and develop their skills.”
The film will be accompanied by an education pack explaining the global reach of the material culture in Jane Austen’s world, and the background to everyday Regency era life.
Research for the pack was conducted by undergraduates and recent graduates from the University under the supervision of Christina.
‘Fanny Price’s Tea Party’ will be launched on 10 December, 5.30pm for 6pm, at the University’s West Downs Auditorium. The launch is open to the public and booking is not required. Following its premiere the film will be available to view on the JAH website.
