Adapting a literary classic for the stage is always a challenge. Audiences familiar with the work will have expectations that cannot always be fulfilled; the writer and director must make difficult editorial choices; and in many cases the scope of the work requires a large cast playing characters that may age during the course of the narrative.

So, BGT’s version of Little Women and Good Wives should be applauded for managing to pack all 500 or so pages of Louisa May Alcott’s episodic two volume novel into one evening’s entertainment. Adapted for the stage by June Lowery, the play becomes a series of vignettes neatly directed into an almost seamless segue by Tony Kingston, thanks in part to Karl Pierce’s brilliantly clever set design and June Lowery’s disciplined stage management.

Speaking in the October edition of Delano, Kingston explained that the choice of material was made to give the many good young actors, especially girls, that he had encountered while teaching drama, a chance to perform in a show that was not just aimed at their peers and classmates.

In Little Women, several of those youngsters seize their chance in the spotlight with aplomb. Hayley Dawson as Elena de Kort as the younger Jo and Amy March, alongside Rasmus Eriksson as the young Laurie Laurence, the “boy next door” would be suitor of Jo, are the standouts. All three performers deliver assured performances, with a charismatic yet natural stage presence. They have bright futures ahead of them if they pursue their careers on the boards.

Cindy Bloes and Gina Millington as Meg and Beth respectively also hold their own and make the opening scenes of what turned out to be a bit of a marathon a joy to watch. Credit must also go to the wonderful costumes by Deborah Cocking and the quartet of singers whose recorded versions of songs from the era entertained and distracted the audience splendidly during the quick-fire scene changes.

Set in an unspecified eastern seaboard town, the first half of the show is compact and energetic, even if the source material lacks real narrative drive at times. As well as the immediate March household, we get to meet the girls’ rather staid aunt (played with brilliant dry wit reminiscent of Maggie Smith from Downton Abbey by Elizabeth Adams) and neighbour James Laurence (the ever-reliable Stephen Anderson).

The second half of the show expands the story to New York and Europe as the adult March girls grow up and entertain ideas of adventure and betterment, or at least a suitable husband. The March sisters are now played by older actresses, among them BGT regulars Jacqueline Milne as Jo and Lindsay Wegleitner as Mag, alongside promising newcomer Karolina Zych as Beth and Ruth Gillen as Amy.

The narrative ups gear as the adult Laurie (Martin Campion) seeks a marriage and Jo remains determined to stay independent. Another BGT regular, Bjørn Clasen also enters the fray as the German professor Friederich Bhaer. Less vibrant than the first half, the audience is nevertheless drawn to the potential romances and the actors manage to sustain interest through their on-stage chemistry.

But the show belongs to the Little Women who so delight in the first half of this ambitious production. The future of English-language theatre in Luxembourg appears to be in rude health.

Little Women is on at Neimënster from Wednesday 26 to Saturday 29 November. Tickets are available here.