Little Women follows the four March sisters as they explore the trials and tribulations that life brings and as they learn to navigate the world around them.
Link to tickets – https://www.adctheatre.com/whats-on/play/little-women/
3rd – 7th March, ADC Theatre, Cambridge
This show is raising money for The Haven, a women’s refuge in Cambridge.
This adaptation leans into the metatextual idea that Jo is writing the very story we are watching unfold. As a director, how did you make that sense of story making visible and theatrical on stage?
The symbolism of Jo writing the story that unfolds around her is most evident in our use of space. The world of Jo’s mind and creativity is embodied on the stage by the metro deck that is 6 feet high and looks like the attic of the house. Throughout the play, Jo takes herself off to the metro deck, where she is consumed by her creativity and we watch her begin to write as other characters enter the stage below her. What she is writing reacts explicitly to what is happening in front of her and, as such, it becomes unclear as to whether what she is writing controls what the characters are doing or whether they are creating the story for her.
Little Women is deeply rooted in memory and nostalgia, especially in light of Louisa May Alcott’s own losses. How did you approach balancing warmth and sentiment with the more bittersweet themes of change and grief?
The warmth really comes from the environment created inside the March home. The four sisters have a beautiful chemistry which highlights the closeness and affection of their relationship. We watch them create their own plays and laugh with each other onstage allowing the audience to feel included in the fun that they create together. This makes the poignancy of the grief that they experience even more heartbreaking. However, it also allows the audience to understand how the sisters come together to support each other and how Beth will forever live on in their memories.
The March sisters frequently stage their own plays within the story. Did you draw on that playful theatricality in shaping the tone and staging of this production?
Absolutely! Our main goal with this production was for it to be as fun, exciting, collaborative and creative for everyone involved. We have a wonderful team of people and they have all worked together brilliantly to create on and off stage a fun and playful environment and atmosphere that the audience will be drawn into and will hopefully feel as soon as the play begins. The contrast between the warmth of the scenes in the March home with the vibrancy and glamour of the aristocratic world builds a full picture of society at the time and allows the audience a peak into all sides of Alcott’s story.
Emma Reeves’ adaptation has had many reincarnations but this is its first time at the ADC Theatre. What felt unique or exciting about bringing this version to this particular space and audience?
I think it is important to remind a student audience of the joy of being creative and what an escape it can be. However, I think it is also important to remind people that what truly matters in life is those we have around us and knowing that we all have people who will support us and be by our side not matter what. We see all the characters in this play go through a lot and the trials of life impact them all so differently, but what always brings them back together is the love and acceptance that they have for each other and in this day and age it is important to remind people of how much we should all value those things.
Jo is both a character and, in many ways, a stand in for Alcott herself. How did you guide the actor playing Jo to navigate that layered identity of sister, artist and storyteller?
With Jo, I think the challenge was always to show how her writing was both the escape from and cause of so much of her pain. We wanted to highlight how becoming so entrenched in her creative goals prevented her from being able to watch her sisters grow and appreciate properly the other people in her life. However, we also wanted to show that writing gave her a passion, drive and dedication that propelled her through hardship and that she refused to let go even when her work was not being appreciated by publishers. Kate Woodman who plays Jo is a fantastic actor and we were very privileged to get to work with someone who so naturally was able to understand and embody the character. All we really tried to do was give Kate the space to figure out her own relationship with Jo and help her to situate Jo within the world of the March’s and of society. We hope that the audience will recognise in Jo that women are able to achieve everything they want in life, they do not have to choose between love and work, and that they do not have to give up any parts of themselves to get there.
Little Women continues to resonate with audiences more than 150 years after its publication. What do you think makes the March sisters’ journey feel especially relevant to contemporary audiences today?
I do not believe this is a story that will ever stop resonating with readers, particularly women. The March girls each follow their own path in life and demonstrate that there is no right answer. Women are allowed to be forthright, opinionated and strong-willed, as Amy and Jo are, but they are also allowed to be kind, soft and gentle, as Beth and Meg are. There is no right way to be a woman and all ambitions in life are equally valid. What truly matters is that we believe in ourselves and in each other and that we life others up and accept them for who they are; if we create space to play and not always take life too seriously then we will always find our way. We hope that the audience is reminded of the joy of being young and creating without expectation and pressure and that we can all work on finding more time and space for that in our lives and that the love we have for the people in our lives is always what matters the most.