Little Women, UK Tour Review (2025)
Written by Hollie for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
When I was a child classic stories and fairy tales took pride of place on my bookshelves at home, and one of those novels was Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women.
Due to my many readings of the book and intrigue in the sisters’ relationships over those early years, I was intrigued to see how this adaptation of Alcott’s Little Women could explore the character’s family relationships as well as how the novel could be brought up-to-date and loved by a modern audience.
This particular adaptation by director Loveday Ingram was loved by the audience last night at the tour’s opening night at Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre. With increased popularity due to the recent 2019 release of Greta Gerwig’s film adaptation, the theatre was buzzing and filled with families, laughter and lively conversations of times gone by.
The stage is set with a Christmas tree adorned with twinkling fairy lights, as well as the family sitting room and a beautiful piano as the centrepiece, all of which are surrounded by tall tree trunks which fill the expanse of Belgrade's stage. The production opens on Christmas Eve with the family of four sisters, Beth, Meg, Amy and Jo, along with their mother Marmee singing Glory Hallelujah, and celebrating all that they can during the period of the American Civil War.
Jo, as the protagonist, played by Grace Molony, reenacts war-like battles and fights, whistles throughout the day and converses with jokes and slang as she aims to fight the stereotype that women have to marry in order to be seen as successful. The stereotypes of rich men not marrying girls who work for a living are explored throughout both acts cleverly, as the audience grows to love Jo and how different she is from her siblings. Never mind her ability to write for local newspapers or publish articles further afield, Jo comes across as very different to her sisters who dream of marrying in the future.
Singing carols around the piano is also Marmie, played by Honeysuckle Weeks, who effortlessly is able to provide a calming and realistic environment for her daughters in the midst of the Civil War in which her husband is away being an army chaplain.
The family dynamics between the sisters and their family members change throughout each scene and are portrayed smoothly by the cast members. With the introduction of Aunt March, played by Belinda Lang, each daughter has their own chapter to work towards and life to live. With humour throughout and quick wit from the actors, this adaptation of Little Women is an easy watch and a piece of great escapism for the audience.
The quartet of actors who play the sisters are excellent, and they naturally bounce off each other throughout the show. The family are introduced to their new neighbour orphan Laurie Lawrence, played by Cillian Lenaghan, the grandson of one of New England’s finest families, and his tutor John Brook, played wonderfully by Jack Ashton.
The costumes are absolutely fantastic and the dresses of gingham and florals are perfectly designed for the era, and match the beautiful setting where snow often falls and the weather is used as pathetic fallacy to emulate the feelings of the characters and the actions that are taking place on the stage.
The development of the character’s relationships are explored throughout the first act and the themes of sibling rivalry, arguments and jealousy are all interspersed during the show. The depiction of surprising and traumatic scenes are incredibly well done, and the audience members can really feel the tension and emotions felt by the characters.
I found the recent film relatively boring but this stage adaptation is refreshing, realistic and romantic. Praise needs to be given to Casting Director Ginny Schiller CDG, who has provided us with a stellar cast of actors who are poised and passionate about this particular stage production.
The dancing, singing and music, directed by Composer Matthew Bugg and Movement coordinator Mike Ashcroft, also could not be faulted and all this together make this production stand out. A show which may well become one of my show’s of the year.
Little Women continues its run at Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre until Saturday 22nd March 2025 before it moves to Edinburgh’s Festival Theatre and Cardiff’s New Theatre in April before it continues to tour across the U.K. before ending at Plymouth’s Theatre Royal in June.
If you are looking for further productions and musicals at Coventry’s Belgrade Theatre then why not try Playfight from Wednesday 2nd April 2025, or Two Pints from Friday 2nd May or The Croft from Tuesday 20th May.
★ ★ ★ ★ ★
