Women speak out in the novels of Jane Austen, perhaps more stridently and decisively than they have ever done in literature before or since. St Albans actress Rebecca Vaughan captures the essence of these females in her one-woman show, Austen’s Women.

Rebecca effortlessly changes from one heroine to another in the process of getting dressed for the day. As she adds each layer of clothing, she takes on another persona.

“There’s something from every major novel and 13 characters in all,” explains Rebecca. “I pop in some things people might not have heard of; something from the novel writing before she died. It doesn’t matter if you only know some of her work. It’s more about trying to show how relevant these women were.”

The best-loved characters are all there, Pride and Prejudice’s Elizabeth Bennet, Marianne Dashwood (Sense and Sensibility) and the irrepressible Emma Woodhouse (Emma). The play is entirely made up from Jane Austen’s works.

Rebecca typed up the relevant passages, amassing 100 pieces of text.

“I ended up with four hours worth of work, so I kept having to go through it all and print pieces off to capture the concept of being a woman in this age. “What I love is that most of Austen’s characters are intensely flawed. Even her heroines aren’t perfect. They get things wrong which is what makes them so human and it means the audience relates to them better. Elizabeth Bennett is full of prejudice and there’s Mary Musgrove bitching to the audience that she’s got to stay home with her sick son. The language is so modern people come up to me afterwards and say ‘I know someone like that’, and that’s the whole point.”

Wednesday, February 9 at 8pm at The Old Town Hall, High Street, Hemel Hempstead. Details: 01442 228091, dyadproductions.com