Very Little Women 2003
Pant wettingly funny The Guardian
It’s a unique style of comedy, it’s what they do and they do it superbly
Manchester Evening News
SYNOPSIS: A comic version of Louisa May Alcott’s classic American novel. A lost age of parlour songs, prayer books and sticky out party dresses. There’s hardly a cross word amongst the cross stitch with these unbelievably good girls, cared for by their devoted Marmee. Maggie and Sue play all four sisters, Laurie, the boy next door, Aunt March, John Brooke, Professor Baer and a host of other characters, with Matthew Vaughan as Marmee.
In 2002, after years of trying, Lip Service was awarded regular funding by Arts Council England, putting the company on a much more secure footing. This meant we could tour larger, more ambitious shows and forge co-productions with regional repertory theatres. Our sets moved from touring in an estate car to touring in a juggernaut. The fit up would take 2 days and we toured around with a much bigger crew. Although our sets expanded, our storage space did not. After years of hanging onto the beautifully designed and painted set (designer Martin Johns) we reluctantly decided to let it go, but wanted to give it a good send off. Our Technical Manager Rob Athorn oversees a big bonfire display at his allotment society in Old Trafford every year. Our set took centre stage with a dummy of the then Prime Minister Boris Johnson as the Guy on top. It all went up in flames, so much so that the fire brigade briefly made an appearance. It was certainly dramatic!
Trailer for interactive Zoom show Chateau Ghoul Most Haunted Event
The wonderful music was written by the late Ian Heywood, (seen here at the piano) who also wrote the music for Withering Looks, Girls in Orbit and Look What We’ve Got! and toured wih us for our very first ever stand up show Coming On Late. As you can see, we’re singing our hearts out!
