18 November 2011 (Theatre Review)

Star Rating: 3/5

Title: Little Women
Venue: The Gate
When: Until the 14th of January, 7.30pm Matinees, 2.30pm
Price: €15 - €35




Cast: Deirdre Donnelly, Michael James Ford, Aisling Franciosi, Peter Gaynor, Jane McGrath, Lise-Ann McLaughlin, Kathy Rose O'Brien, David O'Meara, Lorna Quinn, Marty Rea, Brid Ni Neachtain, Fergal Titley
Director: Michael Barker-Caven
Writer: Louisa May Alcott, adapted by Ann-Marie Casey.

Nutshell: Louisa May Alcott's classic tale of four very different sisters facing the difficulties of growing up in the midst of the American civil war is adapted for the stage.
You'll like this if: You're looking for a festive Christmas experience that doesn’t involve yelling at the cast to "Look behind you" – note: Such behaviour is not welcome in The Gate.
Avoid if: You just can't resist the above.

Each year The Gate wholeheartedly embraces the festive season with a well-loved story adapted for the stage. Some are more explicitly Christmassy than others with Dickens often getting a look in, in 2010 Andrea Corr took on Jane Eyre and this year it's an all American classic with Ann-Marie Casey's adaptation of Louisa May Alcott's Little Women.
When their father enlists in the civil war the March sisters struggle with an austerity they have never before experienced and which severely impedes their impending stepping out into society. Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy vary hugely in their desire to be considered as young ladies and not merely the little women their beloved Marmie and absent father see them as. Lorna Quinn takes centre stage as Jo, the feisty writer determined to shun societal expectations and fend for herself, a contrast to her older sister, the earnest and beautiful Meg, played by Kathy Rose O'Brien. Jane McGrath and Aisling Franciosi complete the quartet as poorly Beth and the wonderfully bratty Amy. As they hurtle toward adulthood the sisters join forces with Laurie (Marty Rea), their handsome young neighbour, who alternates between being a brother figure to the girls and mooning over Jo.

The play hits the right tone with the costumes and set design all adequately summoning up the season, but the adaptation struggles to neatly depict the many key moments in the novel which, combined with some clumsily directed moments, can come across as a bit forced. In general the cast are entertaining enough to override the issues with the script and staging. O'Brien and Franciosi are particularly engaging as the eldest and youngest of the Marches with the latter delighting the audience with her impeccably timed depiction of Amy's many hilarious eccentricities, while Marty Rea portrays the hapless playboy Laurie with the required charisma and humour. Lorna Quinn overdoes Jo's tomboy ways at times and, although this tones down toward the end of the play as her character matures, the face-pulling and over the top physicality can grate a little at the beginning.

Although not without its problems Little Women upholds The Gate's tradition of bringing an appropriately festive, family experience that will please anyone in the market for such.

 

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