Dragon Review: Little Women – Yvonne Arnaud Theatre

Published on: 22 Oct, 2025
Updated on: 22 Oct, 2025

Marmee reads the telegram from the front (Megan Richards, Jewelle Richardson, Juliet Aubrey, Jade Oswald, Natalie Dunne). Picture: Nobby Clark

By Barbara Ford

It is not surprising that the original tour schedule of this delightful version of Louisa May Alcott’s classic and much loved novel Little Women was extended to a further eight venues. Luckily for Guildford theatre goers that included the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre.

For those, if any, who don’t know, it’s the story of four sisters; tomboy Jo, beautiful Meg, sensitive Beth, and spoilt Amy, growing up in genteel poverty in New England during the American Civil War.

The young sisters perform one of Jo’s plays (Natalie Dunne, Megan Richards, Jewelle Hutchinson, Jade Oswald). Nobby Clark

The play, in fact, covers both Little Women and its sequel Good Wives, a real challenge to telescope into two and a half hours, which Anne-Marie Casey successfully meets in this adaptation.

She keeps it true to the original in spirit and in many details, with only the omissions and changes necessary. It’s an essentially feminine story, as the girls’ clergyman father is away with the army, leaving their mother and aunt as the only adults in the family.

Beth and Marmee (Megan Richards, Juliet Aubrey). Nobby Clark

The girls progress into womanhood, meeting problems with courage, supporting each other, and learning morality and acquiring a religious social conscience.  This all reflected Alcott’s own experience with her own three sisters.

Alcott’s professional life is particularly reflected in the character of Jo, with her drive to write, her need to support her poor family and her impatience with social conventions.

Jo dances with Professor Bhaer (Tom Richardson, Natalie Dunne). Nobby Clark

In this production, presented by Lee Dean and Daniel Schumann, the acting was extremely good, and together with the direction by Loveday Ingram, provided some very moving moments.

All the sisters acted convincingly: Natalie Dunne was tempestuous, and temperamental as Jo, softening and maturing through the second half of the play; understudy Zoë Clayton-Kelly played well-behaved Meg with a gentle dignity and a twinkle in her eye; Megan Richards played Beth – who I now realise with my 21st century eyes must have had social anxiety if not autism – very touchingly; and Jewelle Hutchinson clearly showed Amy maturing from a self-centred child to a mature adult.

Laurie consoles Amy (Perry Williams, Jewelle Richardson). Nobby Clark

Perry Williams was lively, if a little camp, as “the boy next door” Laurie, while Tom Richardson convinced as each of the two suitors John Brooke and Professor Bhaer, differentiating impressively between them.

Belinda Lang was fun as Aunt March, with more than a touch of the Maggie Smiths.  But the star of the show for my money was Juliet Aubrey as Marmee, showing the strain of bearing the weight of the worries of wartime, poverty and illness while putting on a brave face in order to support her daughters.

Aunt March won’t take Jo to Europe (Natalie Dunne, Belinda Lang). Nobby Clark

The scenery was attractive and effective, cleverly suggesting different venues with a minimum of changes, supported by an effective use of lighting.  The period costumes – thank goodness, this production kept to the period – were good and appropriate.

If one were to nitpick – in the first half at least, there were not enough gaps indicated between events, giving the audience no time to assimilate one before the next took over.  Something indicating the passage of time between some of them might have been helpful.

And there were a few little infelicities, such as when Meg asks for curls over her forehead, surely even careless Jo would not apply the curling tongs to the back hair?  But then, like most of the audience I loved the book, so resolved to tolerate minor accuracies in the interest of seeing it brought to life – which it was, triumphantly.

To book follow this link: https://www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk/whats-on/little-women

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