Jenny Wren Productions tour "Little Women"
One actress. One musician. One enchanting new adaptation.
Holed up in the attic of her Massachusetts home just after the American Civil War, Jo struggles with writer’s block, until the arrival of an old friend helps her to unlock a lifetime of memories. Laugh and cry with Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy in this coming-of-age tale packed with adventure, drama, love and loss. Cheltenham-based Jenny Wren Productions embark on their first national tour with a new take on the Louisa May Alcott classic, Little Women.
First premiered at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, and now venturing out on a national tour. The show retains all the charm and spirit of the original novel - with a twist. The four sisters, their family and friends are all played by just one woman, actress Hannah Churchill. This original play also features live music performed by actor/musician, Reece Webster.
Reece graduated from The Oxford School of Drama in 2019. While training credits included Baron Tusenbach in Anton Chekov's Three Sisters, Camillo in Shakespeare's The Winter’s Tale and Ben in Disposing of the Body by Hugh Whitemore. Little Women is his professional debut. Hannah trained at the Oxford School of Drama. Her credits whilst training include Helen in After The Dance; Masha in Three Sisters; and Harriet in Small (Soho Theatre). Other credits include Dick Whittington and Sleeping Beauty (both for Everyman Theatre Cheltenham); Emma and Jamila Gavin's Love Lies Bleeding (both for Jenny Wren Productions).
I caught up with Jenny recently, she admitted that theatre had always been her love and she had studied drama both in the country and in a French Conservatoire. She started Jenny Wren productions in 2004, based out of Cheltenham’s Everyman Theatre they have been doing open-air productions in the Gloucestershire area. They generally performed a classic play and hence Little Women had been on her radar.
The hiatus in performing led her to think, with acting restrictions at the time, whether Little Women could make a one woman show, she chatted with Hannah who was up for playing the roles – she had already performed for Jenny Wren outdoors and multiple roles were something she was used to. Jenny and Hannah met originally over Zoom calls during lockdown to create the play and then later rehearsed in person, together with Reece, ahead of the show’s premiere at the Everyman Theatre in June 2021.
“It was a huge passion project for us all and having received such excellent feedback after The Everyman Theatre performances, we wanted the show to have a longer life. I am delighted to be embarking on a national tour. It’s such an uplifting tale, with laughter, as well as pathos and we are excited to share it with audiences around the country.” As to what the audiences can look forward to there is one thing about Hannah’s performance she really loves. “I do hope the audience can imagine the other cast members, the way whatever role Hannah is playing at the time, she knows where the other characters are , and never stands on them!”
I wondered whether there were any venues Jenny was looking forward to. “Sadly, I am not touring with them as there isn’t room for four of us and everything else in the van! However, I would love to find a way to see the show in the Georgian Theatre Royal in Richmond, Yorkshire. I saw the theatre as a twelve-year old and thought how beautiful it looked. We are also appearing at a smaller pop-up theatre alongside Theatre Clwyd in Mold and that sounds very interesting.”
“As this was our first big tour, we used a professional tour booker to find the theatres for us.” To find out more about the company and where you can see “Little Women” please check out their website - https://www.jennywrenproductions.co.uk/
