In the six years since he took over as artistic director of London's Open Air theatre – lovely on a warm evening, though booking a ticket always involves playing Russian roulette with the weather – Timothy Sheader has seriously sharpened up its act. Several acclaimed adaptations of classic novels – from To Kill a Mockingbird to Lord of the Flies – have expanded the theatre's repertoire well beyond hoary productions of Shakespeare or glitzy musicals.

Simon Reade's sparkling new stage version of Pride and Prejudice, timed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the book's publication, is no exception. Max Jones's set – tall wrought-iron gates, just like those of Regent's Park – offers a brilliantly simple evocation of the book's many grand houses, from Netherfield to Pemberley; and director Deborah Bruce expertly marshals the large cast through fast-paced changes of scene.

Jennifer Kirby, making her professional debut as a wonderfully natural Elizabeth, is a real discovery; and is well matched with David Oakes as a suitably haughty but gorgeous Mr Darcy. It's Austen played very much as comedy, evading her darker tones, but retaining much of her humour – still dazzling after 200 years.