Review: TINY BEAUTIFUL THINGS at Howick Little Theatre

Nia Vardalos' (My Big Fat Greek Wedding) adaptation of Tiny Beautiful Things lives a clandestine life. On the surface, it seems like an odd archives of an online advice column, while secretly serving as a memoir for the book's author, Cheryl Strayed (Torch, Wild: From Lost to Found on the Pacific Crest Trail). Accepting the unpaid role of an advice columnist, Strayed, now known as "Sugar," becomes inundated with letters from the column's readers. Each one presents a snapshot of a human life, giving Sugar their secrets, struggles, celebrations, or confessions, desperately trusting that she knows what they should do for fulfilment or forgiveness. Initially overwhelmed by the responsibility, Sugar soon learns that the best way to connect with them is to offer bits of herself in return.

Sugar's journey is a subtle one, marvelously portrayed by actress Shivaun Statham. Though on the surface, she spends the play's 90-minute run time simply answering letters, Statham adopts a variety of personas when interacting with the letter-writer characters onstage. She speaks to them sometimes as a struggling writer, a teacher among disciples, or even a friend and family member. This relationship grows and changes throughout the play, but is in no way one-sided, and the letter writers put her on the spot as well, interrogating her, accusing her, and eventually accepting her.

Director Beate Wiebel has some heavy-hitting talent to work with. Though Sugar is ostensibly the lead, the three letter-writer characters are dream roles for actors, allowing each one to portray over a dozen unique and interesting characters. The three letter-writers in this production each bring a unique skill to the table. Peter Moore portrays an expert knowledge of body language, playing young boys, a transgender man, and even teenage girls with a respect for the characters that a lesser actor may have portrayed awkwardly or uncomfortably. Adrian Chapman has a similar command over his vocal portrayal, allowing humor to emerge in some characters, while also entrancing audiences with his more pitiable or angry personas. Finally, Sarah Dawes plays a range of characters young and old, of multiple genders, each one wearing a unique expression that often made it a joy just to watch her react to the other letter-writers.

Though it portrays a literal part of Strayed's life, I cannot help but feel this script offers special relevance in a time when covid has made us feel disconnected from our friends and family, save for the Internet. The characters perform an excruciatingly slow dance, using the entire massive emptiness of Howick Little Theatre's stage at first, slowly moving closer and closer together onstage. This culminates into one single, powerful gesture that reminds viewers of the strength and beauty of non-verbal communication.

I worry that this is a difficult play to describe to people. I've spent enough of my academic career around literature students to know that abstract art tends to carry itself with the mien and dignity of a cat that just puked on the rug and wants attention for it, and that advice columns sometimes earn a reputation in the other direction, as the entertainment of gossips and busybodies. Tiny Beautiful Things is neither of those. It is the story of a person crossing paths with hundreds of people. It is relatable and understandable, simultaneously sad and uplifting. It is beautifully directed and powerfully acted, and only playing for one week at Howick Little Theatre. Shows are every evening through Saturday, with a matinee performance on the 7th of August. All ticket prices are less than $20.

Photo courtesy of Vic Leilua, hlt studio

To post a comment, you must register and login.