LITTLE WOMEN
By Louisa May Alcott, dramatised by John Myhill
Photo: Rebecca Cockcroft
TUE 28 MAY - SAT 1 JUNE 2024, 7.30PM
Church of the Holy Sepulchre, Sheep Street, Northampton NN1 3NL
A timeless tale of family, hope and the fierce joy of becoming yourself.
CAST
Josephine 'Jo' March Hari Turner
Margaret 'Meg' March Helena Enright-King
Elizabeth 'Beth' March Bernadette Crisp
Amy March Amelie Dawson
Theodore 'Laurie' Laurence Jake Turner
Margaret 'Marmee' March Rachel Moore
Robert March (father) Martin Williams
Aunt Josephine March April Pardoe
James Laurence (grandfather) Chris Stobart
Hannah Mairead Kearins
John Brooke Anderson North
Maid / Estelle Laura Isles
PRODUCTION TEAM
Directors John Myhill, Kelly Bradley
Stage Manager Mairead Kearins
Costume Clare Brittain, Pam Mann
Wig stylist Rachael Pickering
Lighting & Sound Sonny Lumiere
Quilts Jo Myhill
Poster Design Rebecca Cockcroft
Programme Meryl Couper
Website Martin Borley-Cox
Booking Manager Liz Allen
Box Office Sue Howes
Hospitality Manager Maggie Holland
Front of House / Refreshments Masque Theatre members
MASQUE THEATRE
Chair Rob Kendall | Secretary Jan Stoppani | Treasurer Craig Macpherson | Productions Coordinator Graham Breeze | Publicity Meryl Couper | Box Office Manager Elizabeth Allen | Hospitality Manager Maggie Holland | Newsletter Robert Vaughan | Website Martin Borley-Cox | Social Secretary Clare Brittain
Programme
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PHOTO GALLERY
Photos by Rebecca Cockcroft
SEE ALSO
Dramatisations of classic stories
REVIEW
A story with charm and ambiance
Barry Dougall
This is a much loved classic of American literature written by Louisa May Alcott, a coming of age semi-autobiographical story of four young women living in genteel poverty at the time of the American Civil War.
Distilling a lengthy novel, set over several years and with a large number of characters, down to an entertaining stage play of around two hours without losing the charm and ambience of the original is no easy task. So much credit is due to writer John Myhill, who also directed, alongside co-director Kelly Bradley. The adaptation was produced very much taking into account the special features of the Holy Sepulchre in the round setting, addressing the performance technicalities of working effectively with those mighty one thousand-year-old stone piers. There was plenty of pace and and movement throughout, though with little in the way of props or scenery. The actors were the special magic that carry the audience along without the need for ellaborate sets or intrusive stage management.
Good casting
The production was very well cast. Jo is the leading character, in real life Lousia Alcott herself, and Hari Turner was ideal in the role, displaying all Jo's characteristics: tom boyish, quick tempered, stubborn yet, above all, delightful; a talented writer in the making.
The prettiest of the sisters is Meg: sometimes inclined to slight vanity but above all sweet natured and sensible, and Helena Enright-King succeeded in bringing Meg to life on stage, a believable and layered performance.
Photo: Rebecca Cockcroft
Entertaining to watch
The youngest sister, Amy: materialistic, emotional, sometimes insensitive but above all loving and supportive of her family, was played with great energy and commitment by Amelie Dawson, always entertaining to watch.
Beth is the shy and retiring sister in the March family: of gentle nature, a peace maker in sisterly squabbles whose talent for piano playing hidden were it not for a thoughtful neighbour, Mr Laurence. Bernadette Crisp is well cast in this part. Beth is doomed not to live to old age and Bernadette impressively manages,
subtly, to suggest the pathos behind Beth's character.
The glue holding the family together in the absence of their father – away in the war serving as an Army Chaplain – is their mother, "Marmee" March. This was a lovely warm performance from Rachel Moore, looking so comfortable on stage; diction clear as crystal and displaying all Marmee's qualities of generosity, sound advice, love and understanding.
Some enjoyable comic interludes and sound support throughout were provided by Mairead Kearins as Hannah, the family maid, and Laura Isles who played Maid and Estelle.
Amusing and convincing
Masque stalwart April Pardoe clearly relished her role and gave a lively, amusing performance as the crotchety Aunt Josephine who frequently tries to interfere, unhelpfully, in the March sister's lives but is ultimately supportive of them.
Of the other characters in the play, Mr James Laurence, the neighbour, appears rather gruff on first acquaintance but soon shows he has a good and generous heart. Chris Stobart does well with this role, looking and sounding just right, with all the requisite authority and presence.
Jake Turner is relatively new to Masque, an actor to look out for in the future, giving here a convincing portrait of Laurie (grandson to Mr Laurence), a good friend to the March family, disappointed at being spurned by Jo but eventually finding solace with Amy as his future wife.
Anderson North, making his Masque debut as John Brooke, is another kindly, sympathetic personage. This was an impressive first performance in a character part; hopefully we will see more of Anderson on a Masque stage.
Robert March, the father of the sisters, was played by Masque veteran Martin Williams, always a welcome sight on stage. This is not a large role but a significant one and Martin, in yet another mature performance, highlights all of Mr March's strength of character, kindness and generosity.
Photo: Rebecca Cockcroft
Robert's speech towards the end of the the play, when he finally comes home from the war, in which he expresses his delight and appreciation of the ways in which the characters of his daughters have developed and matured due to their various life experiences and have become better people, rounds off the "coming of age" theme in Little Women.
If props and scenery were largely absent, mention must be made of the excellent period costumes provided under the auspices of Masque's legendary team of Clare Brittain and Pam Mann. Lighting and Sound were in the capable hands of "Sonny Lumiere" also known as Philip Welsh, the indefatigable "go to" person by theatrical companies for many years, whose encouraging presence and expertise
have contributed, selflessly, so much to countless productions.
Another effective feature of the production was the background music, thoughfully selected and rounded off most appropriately with that fine old hymn adapted from the words of John Bunyan in The Pilgrim's Progress: To Be A Pilgrim, movingly sung at the conclusion of the piece by the ensemble.
Masque Theatre's production is directed by John Myhill and Kelly Bradley. John has also directed the following productions for Masque: Richard III (2022), The Duchess of Malfi (2019), Antony & Cleopatra (2017) and Our Town (2015)
PREVIEW
Brand new adaptation
John Myhill, writer and co-director
Our May production of Louisa May Alcott’s Little Women will combine the traditional with the innovative, in a new adaptation of the 1868 classic novel in which the entire cast stay on stage throughout, with minimal set or props, instead inviting you to imagine with them as the March sisters explore their childhood memories coming of age against the distant backdrop of the American Civil War.
Staged in the round in the atmospheric Church Of The Holy Sepulchre, directors John Myhill and Kelly Bradley have assembled a talented cast that mixes familiar faces with some brand new actors.
Leading the sisters as the main protagonist of the original novel, Jo March will be played by Hari Turner who has been seen before as Ichabod Crane in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and most recently in A Grimm Tale. Jo hates the limitations and expectations for women in her time and rebels against them while harbouring dreams of becoming a writer, and it’s generally agreed that Jo is a largely autobiographical character.
As her older sister Meg we have Helena Enright-King, last seen in A Midsummer Night’s Dream as Moth the fairy, and due to direct in her own right in October when Masque stage Titus Andronicus. Meg is more comfortable as a traditional homemaker in training but asserts her own independence too and strives to overcome her small vanities.
The third sister Beth is painfully shy but musically gifted, and played by complete newcomer to the stage, Bernadette Crisp. As a wheelchair user the flat performance space of the Sepulchre means there have been no barriers to her taking a full part in the play, and she’s proving a real find, as is another newcomer Amelie Dawson who plays youngest March sister Amy, a talented (but rather self-centred) artist who like her sisters is striving to find her own identity and be her best self.
Pilgrim's Progress
They are encouraged in their very own “pilgrim’s progress” (a book referenced throughout the story) by their parents. Mr March is played by Masque stalwart Martin Williams (seen earlier this year in When We Are Married), and Mrs March, known as “Marmee”, played by Rachel Moore who only recently started acting with Duston Players (as Prince Charming in Cinderella and more recently in The Elephant Man) and for whom this is her first Masque show. Mr March is an army chaplain who was once a wealthy man (losing his money trying to help a friend) but he and his wife retain their optimism and desire to make the best of the world and do their best for others.
While Mr March is away at the front, Marmee is supported by equally motherly housekeeper Hannah, played by Mairead Kearins, most recently seen in Duston’s The Elephant Man with Rachel, and before that in Sweeney Todd for Masque as well as A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
Part of the story involves the March family getting to know their reclusive neighbour Mr Laurence, played by Chris Stobart who although most recently seen as the Beast in pantomime for The Charity Players is also a Masque veteran last seen for us in David Copperfield. Mr Laurence is protective of his grandson Theodore (known as Laurie) played by Jake Turner, another Elephant Man cast member (in the title role), as well as having been in three Masque shows in 2023, most recently The Christmas Spirit. Laurie chafes against being shut away and blossoms when he meets the March sisters, something his Grandfather learns to appreciate.
Rehearsals | Photo: Rebecca Cockcroft
Instant success
Laurie’s tutor John Brooke is played by another newcomer, Anderson North, who like Laurie and the sisters is feeling thwarted by life and held down in his ambitions, but whose encounter with the March family (and one sister in particular) will change him for ever. Another newcomer to the group, Laura Isles plays not one but two maids (one of whom is French!).
Last but by no means least we have Aunt March, a rich and opinionated relative of the family who is sure she knows best, played with relish by Masque treasure April Pardoe, last seen for the group as Queen Hippolyta in A Midsummer Night’s Dream and more recently with Duston Players as Cinderella’s Fairy Godmother and in The Elephant Man.
Despite the author’s initial doubts her book was an instant success and swiftly followed by a second volume, known in the UK as Good Wives. We still treat them as separate books while in the US these two books are generally considered as one, but this show will focus on just the first volume.
