Little Women
★★★★☆ Heart-warming
Festival Theatre: Tue 1- Sat 5 April 2025
Review by Sophie Good
Little Women, Louisa May Alcott’s classic and well-loved tale of four sisters’ tumultuous lives during the American Civil War, arrives at the Festival Theatre this week in Anne-Marie Casey’s adaptation first seen at Pitlochry in 2022.
Little Women is an enduring tale and an important social history. Much like Bronte and Austen’s work it focusses on the domestic lives of women who were experiencing poverty and the pressure to ‘marry well’ in a time where education and employment opportunities were scarce.
Cillian Lenaghan (Laurie), Catherine Chalk (Beth), Honeysuckle Weeks (Marmee), Jade Kennedy (Meg) Imogen Elliot (Amy) and Grace Molony (Jo). Pic: Nobby Clark
For those not familiar, four sisters – Jo, Meg, Beth and Amy – are living an isolated and somewhat frugal life with their mother Marmee while their father is away fighting in the American Civil War.
Ruari Murchison’s set brings their cosy, comfortable but humble, home setting to life, with trees acting as a barrier to the outside world, of which very little is seen. This cleverly transitions to a New York boarding house and back again, but only in a handful of scenes is life beyond their somewhat claustrophobic home life shown.
On occasion the sisters sing harmoniously by the piano – musical interludes which punctuate the scenes in a delightful way. A Christmas tree is rolled in and out to mark the passing of time.
cosy enclave
Into this cosy enclave the only outsider who really infiltrates is the affable Laurie (Cillian Lenaghan), their orphaned neighbour who soon becomes one of the gang. Lenaghan plays him with all of the lanky charm and playfulness that makes you want to keep him in the family.
Grace Malony (Jo) and Cillian Lenaghan (Laurie). Pic Nobby Clark
Each of the sisters carries their own story and challenges. Jo leads them, full to bursting with her ideas for plays and stories. She is played with energy and spark by Grace Molony.
Jade Kennedy is an engaging Meg, considered to be family beauty and under pressure to use her looks wisely to find a wealthy husband. Of course, she is bound to find real love along the way, with Laurie’s humble tutor John Brooke.
otherwise engaged
Jack Ashton plays Brooke in a somewhat downbeat and quiet way, making it hard to see the kindness and compassion that Meg is drawn to. Ashton doubles up as Professor Bhaer, Jo’s love interest later on, which is a challenge as he plays the German professor with more conviction and also we don’t get to see Meg happily married in the second half as the actor is otherwise engaged.
Grace Malony (Jo) and Belinda Lang (Aunt March). Pic Nobby Clark
Amy (Imogen Elliott) and Beth (Catherine Chalk) have the bigger challenge of transitioning from young girls to adolescents and they both do so convincingly.
There is a lovely moment of watching them change from girlish dresses to more grown up clothes, helped by other members of the cast. This is an enjoyable snippet of theatricality in an otherwise largely naturalistic production.
Young Beth is a sweet and sad character which Chalk pulls off with just the right amount of pathos. Amy stays true to what she wants and loves from the start and it is inevitable she will win the affections of judgemental and wealthy Aunt March. Belinda Lang is a pleasure to watch as the fearsome aunt; with impeccable poise and timing she raises the most laughs of the evening.
lynchpin
Marmee (Honeysuckle Weeks) is the lynchpin that holds all of the young women together, providing their moral compass but also the freedom to follow their dreams beyond the confines of their gender. Weeks is truly the archetypal Marmee, loving, wise and giving. In this adaptation it is often Marmee, and not Jo, who is the feminist icon.
Belinda Lang (Aunt March) and Honeysuckle Weeks (Marmee). Pic Nobby Clark
This is an ambitious play. The original book was actually two novels, meaning that there is a lot of plot to get through, even with a running time of almost two and a half hours. The performances are all well drawn, however, and Loveday Ingram directs at a comfortable pace, so the bonds between the sisters and their mother are what really stands out.
This amiable atmosphere does mean that some of the emotional sucker punches have a somewhat thwarted power. That focus on the relationships also means that the real life parallels with Louisa May Alcott’s life have been sidelined. Failing to show Jo’s publishing deal means that the play loses some of its messaging around women finding their agency.
well executed
The key thing, though, is that the audience feel and experience all of the heartbreak, frustration, disappointment and the sometimes happy endings of these four sisters. This production certainly achieves that in a well executed and accomplished way – that makes you want to go home and read the book all over again.
Running time: Two hours and 40 mins (including interval)
Festival Theatre, 13/29 Nicolson Street EH8 9FT.
Tue 1 – Sat 5 Apr 2025
Evenings: 7.30pm; Mats: Thurs, Sat: 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.
Little Women on tour
Lowry, Salford
8 – 12 April 2025
Tickets and details: https://thelowry.com/whats-on
Malvern Festival Theatre
15 – 19 April 2025
Tickets and details: https://malvern-theatres.co.uk/
Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne
22 – 26 April 2025
Tickets and details: https://www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk/whats-on
New Theatre, Cardiff
29 April – 3 May 2025
Tickets and details: https://trafalgartickets.com/new-theatre-cardiff/en-GB
Lyceum Theatre, Sheffield
6 – 10 May 2025
Tickets and details: https://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/whats-on/lyceum
His Majesty Theatre, Aberdeen
13 – 17 May 2025
Tickets and details: https://www.aberdeenperformingarts.com/his-majestys-theatre/
Birmingham Repertory Theatre, Birmingham
20 – 24 May 2025
Tickets and details: https://www.birmingham-rep.co.uk/whats-on/
Richmond Theatre, London
3 – 7 June 2025
Tickets and details: https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/richmond-theatre/
Leeds Grand Theatre and Opera House, Leeds
10 – 14 June 2025
Tickets and details: https://leedsheritagetheatres.com/whats-on/
Theatre Royal Plymouth, Plymouth
17 – 21 June 2025
Tickets and details: https://theatreroyal.com/whats-on/
Grace Malony (Jo) and Jack Ashton (Bhaer). Pic Nobby Clark
ENDS
