THE LITTLE BIG THINGS is a musical based on the best-selling memoir by Henry Fraser and immediately confronts what many people will be thinking initially: namely, that the subject matter was a terrible idea for a musical.
A 17-year-old rugby player, with his whole life in front of him, finds his life has changed forever. Whilst on holiday in Portugal, he dives into the sea and hits his head on a rock, severely crushing his spine, which leaves him paralyzed from the shoulders down.
The memoir tells how he, his mum, his dad and his three brothers coped and how they came to accept and adapt. Henry wheels himself out of hospital a year early and becomes a successful mouth artist. It is an inspirational story of determination and courage.
The music is by Nick Butcher. The lyrics are by Butcher and Tom Ling. The book is by Joe White. The music is pleasant. There are some rousing songs. The actors are personable. The tone is absolutely right.
Henry Fraser asked for the show to be full of colour and wonder. And that is exactly what Luke Sheppard’s lively in-the-round production provides. It is colourful and there are two magical moments: firstly, when all his paintings appear, hanging over the stage; and then, when Henry in his wheelchair flies round the stage and up into the flies with his younger self.
Henry is played by two actors: Jonny Amies is the able-bodied, engaging 17-year-old. Ed Larkin is the disabled mouth artist who has to learn to let go of the past and accept the future. Both actors are excellent. So, too, is Amy Trig, who has a big success as a vivacious psychiatrist. Her dialogue is particularly sharp and ribald.
There are lots of jokes throughout. Henry’s girlfriend (Gracie McGonigal), admiring his paintings, pays him the ultimate compliment. “You’re better with your mouth than you were with your hands.”
The Little Big Things is the first West End musical with a leading role played by a full-time wheelchair artist and @sohoplace, the brand-new accessible theatre for wheelchair-using artists, is the perfect venue for it.
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