Mr Darcy’s Niece

Penny Ashton

Saturday May 16th, 2026
Performance starts at 4:00pm
Peacock Theatre
Doors Open 20 minutes prior to performance.

Duration: 1 hour

Tickets:
Adult $17.50 + BF
Concession $16 + BF

Join award-winning globetrotting Kiwi comedian, Penny Ashton, as she takes everyone through the trials and tribulations of bringing Austen’s works to stages around the world. The brain behind three separate Austen inspired theatrical shows (Promise and Promiscuity, Austen Found and Sense & Sensibility), Ashton is also the 5th great-niece of Austen’s flirtation, Thomas Langlois Lefroy, who some have theorised was an inspiration for Mr Darcy himself.

Penny will talk about her famous relative via her Australian mother, about his nephew (and her 3rd great-grandfather) outback explorer Gerald DeCourcy Lefroy, and about who the hell she thinks she is putting words in Jane Austen’s Mouth.

Penny has performed over 1000 solo shows from Auckland to Edinburgh to Perth. She is well known for plundering great works of literature by Austen, Dickens and Shakespeare and creating lively, comedy musicals in fond and utterly hilarious tributes to them.

“It’s difficult to tell where Austen ends and Ashton begins in this delightful show” ★★★★★ – CBC Canada

“Jane Austen would be spinning in her grave… with delight.” ★★★★★ – Rip it Up, Adelaide

“‘A comedy tsunami’ is how Ashton has been described by a press writer recently. Her presentation at our meeting took the form of a mini-show and was well-received. It was a fast-paced, comedic taste of her musical stage productions, leaving us believing that ‘Mr Darcy’s Niece’ has a delightful and distinguished talent worthy of the many accolades she has received.” Jane Austen Society of Australia

Please contact the host for booking companion card tickets.