Pride and Prejudice dramatised reading raises over £2,400 for Hospice Ethiopia

Mr Darcy helped a Norfolk-based charity raise nearly £2,500 for desperate patients in Ethiopia.  Templewood, the privately-owned Palladian-style shooting lodge near Cromer, was the venue for a dramatic reading of Pride and Prejudice on July 27th 2025.  The cast was a combination of professional actors and amateurs, and the audience was treated to live classical music and a cream tea as well as the drama. 

Sue Mumford is chair of Hospice Ethiopia UK, the charity based in Aldborough, North Norfolk.  She said, “What a fabulous venue Templewood is!  We are so grateful to the owners, Eddie and Tina Anderson, for letting us use their beautiful home.” 

This was the third annual Jane Austen event by Hospice Ethiopia, the previous ones being held at Little Barningham Hall and Cromer Hall, and it was another sell-out.  Next year the team hopes to take on Sense and Sensibility – with the venue yet to be decided.    

“The readings are a snapshot from a section of the books,” Sue says.  “Our script writer, Margy Seale, delights in using the original language to create a truly authentic piece of theatre.  They really are great fun – and it’s a brilliant cause.”

Successful Jane Austen event raises £1560

We had a fantastic event on Sunday 28th July with the dramatized reading from Jane Austen’s Northanger Abbey at Cromer Hall. The actors/readers were brilliant, the musicians fabulous and the high tea scrumptious. As for the setting – it was simply glorious, and we were lucky to have such wonderful weather. Huge thanks to Benjie and Dido Cabbell Manners for letting us use their beautiful home (and for providing a superb lunch for the workers). Massive kudos to script writer Margy Seale and the fabulous cast. Soprano Emma Nuule and her accompanist John Farmer were a delight, as was Jamie Mumford playing incidental music on his recorder. And then, as ever, there were all the background folk who contributed so much hard work – including the bakers, Kate, Rosie, Elizabeth and Julie and Sue, and the very hardworking tea folk, Claire, Julie, Rebecca, Steph and Rachael. And, of course, many thanks to the wonderful people who came and supported the event – raising £1560 in the process, which will make a huge contribution to support Hospice Ethiopia. The money raised is enough to pay for a specialist nurse looking after 100 patients for three months in Ethiopia.

The 2024 Jane Austen event sold out, as did the 2023 one… if you’d like to know about the 2025 event in time to grab a ticket or two, sign up to the newsletter at the bottom of this page.