Lucía del Greco: "I remember watching 'Donettes' and then wanting to get married and have children"

BarcelonaIf contemporary theater has two paths—that of plays where the text takes precedence and that of shows driven by visual imagery—Lucia del Greco (Rome, 1992) always chooses the latter. The Italian creator is one of the most established young talents on the Catalan stage. Anyone who has seen her previous works—such as The Enchanted Ones (2023), Pure passion (2024) or Kill me psychosis (2025)—knows that it also proposes to delve into a unique and captivating universe that takes viewers to unexpected places. Lucia del Greco's creations are the furthest thing from an exact and precise adaptation of a text. And this is precisely what she has now done with the novel Womenby Louisa May Alcott. The show Little WomenThe play, which runs at the Teatre Lliure de Gràcia from October 23 to November 30, is a completely free adaptation of the book in which the artist imagines the characters' flip side applied to contemporary life.

Yo (Elisabet Casanovas), Amy (Paula Jornet), Meg (Míriam Moukhles), and Beth (Blanca Valletbó) are the vehicles through which Del Greco explores how society's gaze impacts women, especially teenagers. "At this stage of life, the body is constantly exposed to the gaze of others, while at the same time it is constantly changing," explains Del Greco. From there, the artist began a search for works that addressed this issue and came across—among many other titles, such as the film Close (2022), by Lukas Dhont, and the books of Fleur Jaeggy— up to Women

"There's also a personal memory. When I was little, I remember watching the movie of Women "And then wanting to get married and have children. Some people identified with 'Me.' I, on the other hand, wanted to wear pink," the director explains. Researching Louisa May Alcott's biography, Del Greco read that "publishers forced her to marry off her characters because, in a way, the book had to be educational and morally acceptable according to the standards of the time in which the character was created," reflecting what society demands of them. "I was interested in focusing on the book's conservatism. They are groundbreaking in some respects, and the novel was groundbreaking at the time, but nowadays these characters don't pose a risk to anyone," Del Greco points out.

Displayed in a glass case

Little Women Twelve transparent display cases are placed on the stage through which the protagonists will pass. In this way, the performance emphasizes the idea of voyeurism that appears in the novel through Laurie (Joan Esteve), who observes them through the window, the wardrobes, and from the street. "They are exposed in a kind of shop window, a confessional platform, a display case of peep show“From here, we take the desire to please others to the extreme by shedding light on society’s desires regarding women,” Del Greco emphasizes. With this show, Del Greco makes her debut at the Teatre Lliure and takes a leap forward in her professional career. “Access to the Lliure is a privilege. I walk into the theater and suddenly there are 25 people working on the project. Their ethical commitment to what we do is inspiring,” she concludes.