FROM THE DIRECTOR

My dear Fellow! What did you want to be when you were a child? I wanted to be a writer, a teacher and a nun. For this, I can thank Jo March, Anne Shirley and Maria Van Trapp. I took them as my examples and I succeeded. Did I want to be a boy like Jo and Anne? Not really. But I did want to be me, rather than something socially prescribed. 

In a book about growing up, Jo is adamant that she does not want to. As a young reader, I found Beth’s story sentimental and maudlin, but she serves as a reminder that not every child on earth has the privilege of health to realise their potential. Meg, meanwhile, chooses a traditional path whereas Amy wants (and gets) it all. Jo remains an enigma. She and Laurie are great mates so why don’t they marry? It is well known that Louisa May Alcott never intended to resolve Jo’s plot with marriage to anyone. As a team we believe Jo recognises that only Professor Bhaer will allow her to become a whole self-actualised person independent of her relationship with him. Bhaer is a complete and fully realised individual with a playful side and the self- awareness to change. Perhaps Jo recognises in Laurie’s youth, malleability and desperation for connection, something which would stifle her.

The other men of the story are largely passive, beneficent, absent and unthreatening. There is no predator, no Braxton, no manosphere and Laurie is smartly repelled when he begins to think of Jo as anything other than a sister. Seen in this light, Orchard House is an enclave of safety, a convent with Aunt March, Mother Superior.  Sisters, forever!

Alcott wanted Jo to make her own way, prizing liberty above romantic love, and education above gendered expectations. This story, about how one chooses to live still speaks to my young cast, as I hope it will speak to our audiences. Health, education, freedom, meaningful work and rewarding relationships are things I wish for all young people.