Four wise women

It's not officially a Christmas show, but the fact that Little Women is full of home-spun wisdom and uplifting sentiments about the importance of friends and family makes it the perfect theatrical outing for this time of the year.

However, its merits lay not merely in the content, but throughout Andrew Loudon's charming production, which twinkles, jewel-like, in the midst of the high proportion of mediocrity currently on offer.

The eponymous small females are, of course, the four indomitable March sisters, beloved creations of Louisa May Alcott. Their tale, starting in 1860s New England, is set against the backdrop of the American Civil War and looks at the hardships of life on the home front.

Later, in the follow-up novel Good Wives (which is also encompassed here), Alcott worries at the ideals of the nascent female suffrage movement and women's work-versus-marriage dilemma.

There is, in short, a lot more going on than meets the dismissive eye of one who would consign Little Women to the children's fiction shelf without a second thought. Emma Reeves's well-judged adaptation condenses the books into an ideal two-hour running time, and manages to present enough of the key plot incidents without depriving itself of time to reflect on the novels' deeper sentiments.

A few of the scenes on Rachel Payne's effective split-level set do have a somewhat cursory feel to them; moments of high emotion should never be truncated to make way for the next scene change.

Any adaptation, no matter how expert, will stand or fall by the quality of the quartet of actresses marching about. Apart from some accents that don't quite make it all the way across the Atlantic, Sarah Edwardson (Meg), Sarah Grochala (Jo), Diana Eskell (Amy) and Nikki Leigh Scott (Beth) are delightful.

All four played these same parts in this production's run last Christmas at the tiny New End Theatre, and rightly get a chance to reprise them at this larger venue for an extended run.

Head to Islington now for a touching treat, but don't bypass the tissues handily on sale on the foyer. Copious audience sniffing suggested that several people had forgotten just how many sisters make it - and quite how movingly - through to the final curtain.

Until 31 January. Box office: 020 7863 8000.

Little Women