Aberystwyth Arts Centre Community Theatre will perform a new adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s famous novel Vanity Fair in December.

Vanity Fair is the story of Becky Sharp and Amelia Sedley. They meet as schoolgirls and are flung into a world of love, scheming and war, just before and after the Battle of Waterloo (1815).

George Osborne, a self-obsessed but attractive man, marries his childhood sweetheart Amelia. Rawdon Crawley, a self-indulgent gambler, marries Becky.

Fate, that most unpredictable of guests, lurks in the shadows – the hidden puppeteer pulling the strings of their lives, and ours.

It is a story of human nature and the unpredictable workings of chance, brought to life by a large community cast and the highly skilled technical team working at Aberystwyth Arts Centre.

Becky and Amelia encounter tight-fisted businessmen, unprincipled aristocrats and social climbers. Will Becky, the poor, sharp witted orphan find success in a harsh, unforgiving world? Will William Dobbin’s love for Amelia succeed? Will it all be worth it? Along the way there is drama, satire, tension, comedy and, lots of fun.

This new adaptation is by Richard Hogger and Tom O’Malley, who said: “Vanity Fair is a fast-moving, entertaining play, based on Thackeray’s masterpiece, first published in 1848.

“It is still in print because it’s a truly brilliant novel.

“Richard Hogger and I have brought the iconic Becky Sharp, and many of the remarkable characters Thackeray created to the stage.

“Set between 1812 and about 1830, its humour and themes, of love, loss, the search for happiness, and the way things never work out quite as we hope, are as relevant today they were in the 1840s.”

See the show at Aberystwyth Arts Centre on Thursday and Friday, 7 and 8 December at 7.30pm.

Whet your appetite for the show with the video above, taken in one of the rehearsals for the show.