Step into the world of sisterhood in Little Women
Anne-Marie Casey’s masterful new adaptation of Little Women breathes new life into one of the best-loved novels of all time. Before it arrives at Leeds Grand Theatre next month, we spoke to Jade Kennedy and Catherine Chalk about stepping into Little Women’s world of sisterhood, courage, and ambition, as they bring the famous March sisters to life.
Written by Jade Kennedy and Catherine Chalk
The sisters
Tell us about the character you play.
Jade: I play Meg March who is the eldest of the March sisters. She is regarded as very beautiful and desires the prettiest and fanciest things in life (to begin with). She is kind, patient and gentle, with a soft spot for her youngest sister Amy. Along her journey, she falls in love and begins to reassess what she really wants from life and how to be happy.
Catherine: I play Beth March. Beth is the second youngest of the sisters, but in many ways feels like the baby of the family. She is very gentle, musical, quite weird in many respects, and shy. She does not speak much with those she doesn’t know, but she has a very kind heart and does her best to be like her hard-working, giving mother. Ultimately, it is this desire to do right that leads to her getting sick, catching scarlet fever from a baby/family that she was helping, from which she never fully recovers.
How are you similar/different to your character?
Jade: I feel very different from some of the things Meg enjoys like her finery. She also struggles with envy which is definitely something new to play and tap in to! I do, however, very much relate to her being an older sister and what it takes to give advice and help to your younger siblings.
Jade Kennedy who plays Meg March in Little Women.
Catherine: We are similar in that we both love music, play the piano and sing, and I would say we both have a great love of animals and nature. How we differ: I have a lot of ambition with regards to my career and I also really want to travel the world. In contrast, Beth is very content staying at home and finds her happiness in helping her family and the life she has built there.
How did you prepare for the role?
Jade: I had seen two different versions of the film and read the book growing up. I came back to the book and studied it from the perspective of Meg which felt very informing and gave me a whole new viewpoint of it. All four girls are so well-rounded and complex which I love so much.
Catherine: I had seen the Greta Gerwig film and loved it, but had not read the book until I started preparing for this job. I had so much fun reading it; there is obviously so much in there that can never be [fully captured] in any adaptation. To prepare for Beth in this particular adaptation, I did lots of work with music and imagery for her character and each individual relationship with the other characters in the show. On a practical level, I also went back to doing my piano scales every morning to make sure I could do her piano-playing justice!
Catherine Chalk who plays Beth March in Little Women.
The show
Tell us about this adaptation of Little Women.
Jade: I think this adaption is very dynamic. It’s exciting and leans into the real rollercoaster of a plot Louise May Alcott has written. It’s full of heart and a lot of humour which Anne-Marie does very, very well.
Catherine: This adaptation by Anne-Marie Casey is very fast-paced and captures all the much-loved elements of the book. It centres around the brilliant Jo, woven in with all the trials and tribulations the family goes through. I think audiences can expect a moving, fun and heartfelt evening, with a sprinkling of snow!
Describe a day working on Little Women.
Jade: In rehearsals, we would start checking in with each other and then, honestly, play around so much. I discovered so much from my day-to-day working with this company, and we truly feel like an ensemble both on and off the stage. We would often go chronologically through the play and just figure out the limits of what we could do with the space.
Imogen Elliot (Amy), Grace Molony (Jo), Jade Kennedy (Meg), Catherine Chalk (Beth). Credit: Jonathan Phang
Company of Little Women. Credit: Jonathan Phang
Catherine: Each day can be quite different at the moment, depending on which city we are in and what else is going on in life! I’m currently studying for an open university degree and developing a new musical called Heaven Has No Rage, so that takes up most of my time outside the show schedule. But on Fridays we only have one evening show, so I try to make the most of that day to get out and explore the city with the cast.
Any highlights or funny stories from the tour?
Catherine: It’s a wonderful company so we have lots of fun together. The four of us playing the March sisters stayed together for the first two weeks of the tour, so we had lots of sisterly bonding time and probably too much staying up to the early hours of the morning playing cards and putting the world to rights!
Jade: I’m sure there will be many tales to come from the rest of this tour.
Quickfire questions
How did you get into acting?
Jade: I began acting quite young through dance and musical theatre which I stuck to throughout all of my childhood and teen years until eventually going off to train at drama school in musical theatre. Theatre and movies have always been such a pillar in my universe and become mini time-capsules for me.
Catherine: I came across acting at school. I had a wonderful drama teacher who treated us all as professionals and adults and opened up the world of theatre to me. It was a real epiphany moment after my first class with him, of ‘I want to do this for the rest of my life’, so I’ve spent the many years since then working to make that a reality!
What do you like to do in your spare time?
Jade: I love to crochet, read and watch as many movies as I physically can.
Catherine: I love listening to music and singing, watching films with my partner and going on dog walks with friends.
Catherine Chalk, Jade Kennedy, Imogen Elliott and Grace Molony in Little Women Credit: Nobby Clark
Catherine Chalk, Imogen Elliott, Jade Kennedy, and Grace Molony. Credit: Nobby Clark
If you weren’t an actor, what would you be?
Jade: If I wasn’t an actor, I feel like I would probably be working with animals or a lawyer.
Catherine: I can’t imagine myself doing anything else really. But I think in another life (if I had never come across acting), I might be found in the countryside working as an equine vet.
What other literary character would you like to play?
Jade: I’ve missed the boat to play Matilda which breaks my heart as she’s my favourite. But I would definitely like to play an iteration of Amy Dunne from Gone Girl.
Catherine: I adore the book Testament of Youth by Vera Brittain and loved the film adaptation equally as much. I think she is an extraordinary woman, and whilst not technically a literary character, I would love to play her in a future adaptation.
Have you been to Leeds before?
Jade: I’ve never been to Leeds and am very excited to see what it has to offer!
Catherine: This will be my first time in Leeds too – I’ve heard many wonderful things about the city so am also very excited to explore.
Cillian Lenaghan and Grace Molony. Credit: Nobby Clark
Imogen Elliott, Jade Kennedy, Catherine Chalk, and Grace Molony. Credit: Nobby Clark
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