Friday, December 5

Tag: Ruari Murchison

Little Women – Liverpool Playhouse
North West

Little Women – Liverpool Playhouse

Louisa May Alcott's classic heartwarming story is one of my favourites and centres around the coming of age of the March Sisters and is adapted by Anne-Marie Casey for the stage and directed by Loveday Ingram.  The American Civil War is the backdrop and follows the lives of the four March sisters Meg, Jo, Amy and Beth as they navigate their way through life dealing with love, loss, their different ambitions and the transformation they each go through.  Ruari Murchison's clever set is simple but so effective. The bare tree trunks on the stage work so well letting us imagine the outdoors and there is even a gentle falling of snow. The clever use of Matthew Buggs atmospheric music helps capture the mood and completely suits the period Li...
Little Women – HOME, Manchester
North West

Little Women – HOME, Manchester

Christmas is not an easy time for theatre programmers. The demand is there, from young and old, but so is the competition. Eschewing the traditional panto, the full-scale musical and the seasonal farce, HOME has instead opted to revive Anne-Marie Casey’s adaptation of the classic novel Little Women. It is a very smart decision. First performed last summer, this production is like a stage version of the very best Sunday afternoon TV drama. It is totally and utterly charming from the very first second. Louisa May Alcott’s semi-autobiographical novel has truly stood the test of time and been adapted countless times and ways since the 1860s. This version is a relatively faithful, if stripped back, affair which smartly refreshes the storytelling. At the height of the American Civil ...