Craig Norton: Domino Theatre’s Seasonal Production Is Let at Last
This year’s seasonal production at Domino Theatre is all about Jane Austen’s beloved classic, Pride and Prejudice. But this time, it follows the often-forgotten Bennet sister, Mary, during the Christmas holidays as she reunites with her family and experiences a blossoming new relationship. Craig Norton, an actor, director, and psychotherapist by trade, often working with neurodiverse adults, is director of Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley. I had the chance to speak with him where he explains his directorial methods and why thoughtfully weaving neurodivergent representation into this production is so important.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
How did you first get involved in theatre?
I first got involved with theatre by doing high school musicals. Then I did my undergrad, studying drama at Queen’s, and then did a career in film and television for a while, and then got back into theatre in 2018 in Port Hope. Then, when I moved to Kingston, I went out for an audition, and did a play a couple of years ago at Domino Theatre. So I’ve always been in theatre, ever since I was 12 years old.
The Pride and Prejudice world is very popular and is widely loved. What was it about Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley that made you feel that you wanted to direct it?
There were two main reasons for wanting to direct this play. The first was because it involved a younger cast; the actors in our ensemble range anywhere from 15 to 30 years of age. So it’s much younger than what you would typically see in community-organized theatre. Here in Kingston, Queen’s and SLC will hold a few productions, but people outside of [those students] are relegated to either go professional or nothing, so they tend to get excluded.
The second reason was that the theme of Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley is one of diversity, specifically neurodiversity. The two main characters are Mary Bennet and Arthur de Bourgh, who are both fairly clearly autistic in the way that they approach the world and the way that they interact with people. And I felt that having an authentic representation of autism and neurodiversity on stage, one that wasn’t stereotypical or a punchline, was really, really important.
In the original book and movies, Mary Bennet is usually overshadowed. What did you want audiences to understand about Mary that they haven’t fully seen in the original works?
During the Regency era in England, daughters didn’t inherit things. So in Mary’s case, she’s living with her parents until they pass, and then Mr. Collins [Mary’s cousin] will take over Longbourn [the Bennet family’s estate]. So she’s stranded, just awaiting spinsterhood. But once all of the sisters are out of the house, Mary is able to have her own time to do her own things. She develops as a person and realizes who she is. It’s nice that we see this person that we didn’t really get to meet in the book.
How do you collaborate with the cast to bring the humour and emotional parts of this play together while keeping the play true to both of your visions?
We’ve been working for a few weeks now and have had the luxury of having a really awesome set design by Liz Schell. Because she had a vision right away, we were able to do blocking on the play immediately and spend a lot of time going over the script, the words, and the punctuation. Why does somebody speak differently? Why do they use these words here and not later? Which is really key because something that people on the spectrum can struggle with is things like social cues, body language, subtext, and irony.
Being able to spend time, especially one-on-one with actors, lets us dig into it, having the sets already done so that people could live in that space, and then also having an amazing team and an assistant director, Craig Deacon, to give notes where we didn’t catch something or help with performances.
Miss Bennet is described as a cozy holiday play. What about this makes it feel especially warm and festive for you?
What I really like about this play is that it takes place over just a couple of days. As the morning turns to afternoon, turns to evening, and then goes back to morning, we’ve got the opportunity to see people catching up and having fun, as well as, there’s a little tiny love story that’s developing.
But what makes it cozy is that it’s such an important holiday for the family; despite everything, they’re really focused on how much they love each other and how much being together is the most important thing. Even reaching out and trying to include people who aren’t immediate family. It really has that very warm, welcoming family vibe.
What do you hope that audiences leave thinking or feeling after watching this production?
I hope that people really connect with the play. Pride and Prejudice is such a popular and beloved book and has such popular characters. For example, Mr. Darcy is his own cultural touchstone. You can just say Mr. Darcy, and everyone knows what you’re talking about, so that love, the feeling that people have for the source material.
I also want people to walk away feeling like we did it justice, feeling as uplifted as we are doing it, because it’s such a beautiful play. It’s an authentic representation of two people who, especially at a time when there were no such things as mental health support for these people to be accepted as they are. I think [a] really nice message for the holidays is: No matter who you are, you’ve got a home.
Craig is an actor and director who lives in Kingston, Ontario. A veteran of the stage and screen, Craig works as a psychotherapist in private practice. ‘Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley’ is the third production Craig has been involved in at the Domino Theatre.
‘Miss Bennet: Christmas at Pemberley’ premieres at Domino Theatre, running from November 27-December 13, 2025. More information can be found here.
