Anne-Marie Casey’s adaptation of Little Women hits Home in Manchester for an enjoyable display of Christmas fun.
Brigid Lamour directed the play in a way that captured the complexities of family life and how familial love transcends the era the book was written.
Little Women saw success in recent times through Greta Gerwig’s film adaptation, and now Casey is bringing the classical book to the stage.
Louisa May Alcott’s semi-autobiographical story follows the complex lives of the four March sisters, Meg, Jo, Amy and Beth.
The March family are impoverished due to their father’s poor financial decisions, but that by no means limits the ambitions of any of the sisters.
The driving force of the clan is the second oldest daughter Jo, a strong willed and tom-boyish character who has a penchant for writing.
Rachael Macallister delivered a strong performance as Jo, finding the nuance in the characters juggle between her own ambition and supporting her family.
Jo is partnered with the charming and equally fiendish Laurie (Daniel Francis-Swaby) for the childhood portion of the play.
While both actors bounced off each other when performing, there seemed to be a lack of the chemistry that embodied the complex relationship between Jo and Laurie in the books.
This was an issue that perhaps followed Francis-Swaby performance when Laurie meets Amy later in the play and ends up marrying the younger sister.
There is a contentious debate between Little Women fans of who Laurie should have married and who he truly loved, but in this production it was slightly hard to believe he loved either of the sisters.
The production does not stray far from the original book in terms of dialogue and content, but it also lacks key scenes between Amy and Laurie that explain why the pair ended up marrying.
Luckily the chemistry issues did not hinder a truly standout performance from Julia Brown as Amy.
Amy is arguably the most dislikable of the sisters, she is impetuous and spoiled, yet Brown delicately transitions the character into a mature and likeable woman.
Meg Chaplin brilliantly brought the family together as the ‘good’ Beth, tying up the sometimes chaotic energy of her sisters.
The oldest of the March sisters, Meg who is played by Jessica Brydges, is meant to be the pretty sister who will marry up in society.
But Brydges brings so much more to this character, demonstrating the transition from the role she must play in her family to finding and accepting the love that she deserves.
The show was punctuated with song and dance, ending with a simple routine that summarised the meaning of the play, all the characters end in harmony.
Little Women is running at Home theatre until the 23rd of December. Tickets can be bought here.
Images courtesy of Chris Payne
