LITTLE WOMEN Comes to The Roman Theatre St Albans Next Month

OVO will present Stephanie Allison's and Amy Connery's smartly paced, fresh approach to Louisa May Alcott's classic coming-of-age 1868 novel at the Roman Theatre in August. Allison and Connery (whose 'Scissor Sisters' was a smash hit at OVO's recent Maltings Theatre season) have written a new script in collaboration with playwright Sophie Swithenbank to bring a new and modern outlook to the story while retaining the novel's enormous, global appeal. They've added live music, movement and physical theatre to bring the story to life.

Says Stephanie Allison: "Little Women has resonated with both of us for years; the themes of family, love and coming of age Alcott explored over a century ago still exist today. At the time Little Women was rare in that the story centred around women and gave space to their journey; although modern expectations for women have changed a great deal often they're still expected to occupy the traditional role of mother and caregiver. As Jo and her sisters navigate growing up, the challenges they face and overcome are ones many of our audience will recognise or have been through."

Fans around the world will know that Alcott wrote two separate books: Little Women and Good Wives. While she wrote movingly and entertainingly about the lives of her heroines, particularly Jo, she was eventually pressurised by her publishers to marry everyone off!

Adds Amy Connery: "We can't help but wonder how Little Women might have ended had Alcott not been under such pressure to marry Jo off - it led us to adjust the relationship between Jo March and Professor Bhaer. We were also really interested in the strictly structured society where every step was planned out for women in general and in our production we explore how the March sisters challenge what society expects of them as they grow into women."

Little Women synopsis

Jo, the second eldest of the four March daughters and an aspiring writer, receives yet another rejection from a publisher. Her friend, Professor Bhaer, tells her she can do better by making her stories more personal. Begrudgingly, Jo weaves the story of how she and her sisters - Meg, the eldest, who's on the brink of love, sweet-natured Beth who always puts others first and Amy, the youngest and most precocious - grew up in America.

Even though money is short, times are tough and their father is away, their infectious sense of fun sweeps everyone up in their adventures - including Laurie, the boy next door. And through sisterly squabbles and tragic losses, the sisters discover that growing up is sometimes very hard to do.

Louisa May Alcott's timeless and captivating book is brought to life in a brand new adaptation, perfect for all the family. This classic story embodies the complete theatrical experience, guaranteeing laughter, tears and a lifting of the spirit.

Stephanie Allison and Amy Connery studied drama at Exeter University and share a common approach for creating and devising theatre. They worked as Movement Directors with OVO on the Alban Arena and Roman Theatre productions of 'Peter Pan' and the Maltings Theatre production of 'Mosquitoes'. Last year they choreographed scenes in OVO's Roman Theatre production of 'A Winter's Tale'. As co-directors Stephanie and Amy work together in the rehearsal space, developing ideas together and with their cast; they co-directed Amy's gripping two-hander, 'Scissor Sisters', about a gruesome true murder at the Maltings Theatre earlier this year.

LITTLE WOMEN cast

Jo March Katie Friedli Walton
Meg March Lucy Crick
Amy March Jane Withers
Beth March Anastasia Raymond
Laurie Laurence Gabriel Fogarty Graveson
Mrs March Kat Anne Rogers
Professor Francis/Aunt March Faith Turner
Mr Brooke James Douglas
Mr Laurence/Mr March Boyd Rogers

Costume Design Emma Lyth
Stage Design Simon Nicholas
Photography Pavel Gonevski

Stephanie Allison: "We can't wait for Roman Theatre audiences to see our production of 'Little Women' - the stage is vast! It's a very exciting space and lends itself to much movement and audience connection."

Amy Connery: "We also think having a fast-paced performance with music and movement in the way we do feels very magical in the outdoor space. Roman Theatre audiences are always so welcoming and wonderful and we can't wait to show everyone what we've created!"

Says OVO Artistic Director Adam Nichols: "We're resident at the Roman Theatre for three months - in fact it's our longest residency to date. We've had big audience numbers for our opening show, 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and July's production of 'The Importance of Being Earnest' is going well.

"'LITTLE WOMEN' is a great story, it's well known to audiences of all ages and I can't wait to see how Stephanie and Amy bring their physical theatre expertise to this very contemporary 19th century story. The soundtrack features some of my personal favourites including Fleetwood Mac, Talking Heads, and the Cranberries.

OVO has installed top grade new facilities at the Roman Theatre including a full bar that affords hilltop views of the 2000-year old Arena and beautiful Ver Valley, fully accessible toilet facilities, a permanent stage, improved access for disabled visitors and brand new dressing rooms.

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