I think the term ‘all consuming’ is a bit overplayed by people but I find myself needing to use it in the case of my current production – ‘Little Women’.

My wife has wanted to tell this story on stage for as long as I have known her… possibly even longer than that, so when I asked her to direct something for my theatre production company, it was a bit of a no-brainer for her.  

The trouble was that all the existing LW scripts were a bit rubbish if truth be told and modern audiences (especially of the 1994 & 2019 movies) would expect the WHOLE story… and not just the first half, which is what the existing scripts were offering.  So Jane decided to write her own.

At the start of January, she was reading the classic novel and making notes of each chapter and once she finished that she started to write. By the end of April we had a script (so jane was working on this most weekend days, on top of her normal demanding job as a celebrant) and we had a set design and were then looking to put the feelers out to cast it! 

By the end of June we have a (super talented) cast and crew on board… but every evening there is some discussion or other about the play and all the elements that have to go into it – costumes, sound, expectations of lighting, set dressing and props. So much to consider!

On top of that, the marketing had gone up in April to ensure people knew about it… and before we even had a cast there had been dozens of tickets sold. We absolutely had to put this show on! Demand was evident!

Let’s just remind people here, this is an amateur show – something we put on in our ‘spare’ time… but every waking moment is being taken over by this multifaceted beast, this theatrical juggernaught, a monolithic classic that brings with it expectations from the public and most of all, from our very own, very high standards of what theatre shows should be like. Slick, detailed, emotional and thought provoking.

Currently we are on to our 5th rehearsal. Jane is super organised and we are cracking through it at breakneck speed. On top of that I have a production meeting with my new production assistant tonight to go through the pages of props and set dressing states… the brain feels full to bursting.

I shall update you all soon!!