Review: THE LITTLE BIG THINGS, @sohoplace

Based on the memoir of the same name, The Little Big Things recounts the story of Henry Fraser's life-changing accident on holiday in Portugal, and how he subsequently came to embrace the person he became.

The book has been adapted for the stage by Joe White, with music by Nick Butcher and lyrics by Butcher and Tom Ling; Luke Sheppard directs, and the creative team also worked closely with the Fraser family to aid in its development.

Before Henry's accident, the Frasers were already a close-knit group – despite the two older brothers (Tom and Will) having moved away from the family home (leaving their younger brothers Henry and Dom behind) to pursue their dream careers. As a treat for winning a rugby tournament, Henry is given permission to join his older brothers on their holiday to Portugal; one fast-track passport later and he eventually makes it, allowing the trio to properly unwind and have some well-earned fun. 

This paradise, however, is short-lived. Henry hits his head and damages his vertebrae when he unintentionally dives into a shallow part of the sea, becoming paralysed from the shoulders down. The next thing he knows, he’s in hospital and his parents have arrived to negotiate his return to England. From there, the Stoke Mandeville Hospital and months of operations, rest and rehab await...

On paper, it really isn’t the most obvious book to turn into a musical, but somehow it just about works. Butcher and Ling’s songs are enjoyable, with some real toe-tappers like “Uma Vida” peppered throughout; though not a complete measure of a song’s quality, none are particularly memorable – “The Little Big Things” only sticks in your head on the way out of the theatre because it’s the last song you hear (and the chorus is repeated multiple times). Employing a pop-rock score is an interesting choice – and definitely grounds the action in the late noughties – but ultimately means many of the songs are rather samey.

What some of the numbers do do is provide more emotional depth than the source text – even if this was quite heavily weighted towards the rest of the family’s experience, rather than what was going on in Henry’s head. This is counteracted to some extent by the decision to cast two actors as Henry (representing the character before and after his accident); this allows the pair to come to terms with what happened by addressing the mental scars that they have been left with, mostly through dialogue at various points in the show.

The trouble is, there isn’t much sense of time passing; this isn’t easy to depict, as it would be incredibly dull if we had to watch Henry repeat his rehab exercises over and over again, or see him very slowly become an expert mouth artist after a lot of practice - but as it is, he appears to overcome every issue almost instantly. This doesn’t allow for any build-up of tension - instead the music serves as an emotional manipulator, trying to force the tears out.

The art theme runs through the entire show, which Howard Hudson and Luke Halls have picked up on in their lighting and video designs; latterly, the auditorium explodes with colour when Henry draws attention to specific shades and links them to aspects of life, and the stage itself is used as a canvas on which to project digital art. Unfortunately the stage projections aren’t at all clear if you’re sat in the stalls, so the upper levels may be the best places to go to get the full experience.

Malinda Parris impresses as Dr Graham, with vocals to die for and superb comedy timing. Cleve September (Will), Jamie Chatterton (Tom), Jordan Benjamin (Dom), Jonny Amies (Henry - before), and Ed Larkin (Henry - after) have clearly formed a brotherly bond, as their closeness (and ability to wind each other up) feels genuinely authentic as they interact onstage.

The standout performance for me, however, comes from Amy Trigg; she plays physiotherapist Agnes to comic perfection (I lost count of how many rounds of applause she received for some brutal one-liners), and is also the most relatable character in the show by a country mile - for disabled and non-disabled audience members alike. Trigg’s star is most definitely on the ascent.

Although The Little Big Things doesn’t quite pack the emotional punch promised, it doesn’t shy away from trying to tell the story in its own way. It’s vital that the theatre scene continues to diversify the stories that it tells, and this is an important push in the right direction - particularly as it has been given space in the West End’s newest theatre.

It's encouraging to see @sohoplace continue to champion these productions, both in terms of the stories told and the actors cast in them; as many older theatres are still either partly or wholly inaccessible to disabled people, it is vital that buildings like this lead the way. On the whole, this show makes for a diverting night out.

The Little Big Things runs at @sohoplace theatre until 25 November

Photo credit: Pamela Raith