Tag Archives: Mark Smith

The Little Big Things

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Sohoplace

THE LITTLE BIG THINGS at @Sohoplace

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The Little Big Things

“The script may read like a Hallmark greetings card at times, but the show has all the hallmarks of a major hit.”

Being challenged in life is inevitable, but being defeated is optional. So runs one of the tag lines for Henry Fraser’s inspirational memoir published in 2017. Fraser was just seventeen years old when a tragic swimming accident on holiday in Portugal crushed his spinal cord. Paralysed from the shoulders down, he challenged and then conquered the unimaginable difficulties and, in doing so, has inspired others and taught invaluable lessons in how to seize life and adapt to a new way of living. But central to the story is the fact that he was never alone. The repercussions, reactions and unblinking support of his family and closest friends are unavoidably swept into the tidal wave of the drama. A real-life drama transformed into an uplifting, larger-than-life musical drama by Joe White (book), Nick Butcher (music and lyrics) and Tom Ling (lyrics).

The piece revolves around a dialogue between the two Henry’s: post-accident (Ed Larkin) and pre-accident (Jonny Amies). It is a love-hate, symbiotic relationship. A tug-of-war where the two are simultaneously struggling to teach each other how to look backwards and forwards. The chemistry between Larkin and Amies is unfeigned and naturally heartfelt; the necessary conflicts yielding much of the show’s humour and pathos. But the rest of the cast have their fair share too. Crucial to Fraser’s rehabilitation is physiotherapist Agnes, played with undisguised relish by Amy Trigg. Occasionally a little too pleased with the audience reception, Trigg is nevertheless a charismatic tour de force, graced with some of the best lines. Linzi Hately and Alasdair Harvey as the mother and father respectively both touch on the agony and the ecstasy inherent in the narrative. Particularly Hately as she looks back on her son’s early life during her standout solo number. β€˜One to Seventeen’. The lyrics border on sentimentality but are pulled back by Hately’s honest and raw performance of the number.

“Fay Fullerton’s costume design is given its own catwalk during a gloriously surreal nightclub scene”

Elsewhere the score is uniformly upbeat, almost relentlessly so as if the messages need to be drummed home with a four-four backbeat and rousing chorus. The show stopping β€œThe World is Waiting” heralds the interval but feels like the grand finale. One wonders where it can go from here, but the second act does open with therapeutic doses of comedy. And Fay Fullerton’s costume design is given its own catwalk during a gloriously surreal nightclub scene with a β€˜Monopoly’ fancy dress theme. Later, as the characters race towards the dependable denouement, primary colours are the order of the day. It is brash and it is bold, and undoubtedly stirring, but we see the vivid rainbow of colours without really understanding the unseen shades of the spectrum. All of a sudden Henry Fraser is opening an exhibition of his artwork – painted just by using his mouth – yet the narrative airbrushes out the sweat and tears that were shed to reach that achievement. Fraser’s story is one of extreme triumph and hardship, but too often here it seems to be given an easy ride.

Nevertheless, it is a triumphant production. Luke Sheppard’s staging is impeccable, eschewing any kind of set, relying on lighting (Howard Hudson), innovative choreography (Mark Smith) and, above all, outstanding performances. It is a celebration of life. There is absolutely no room for negativity. At the heart of Henry Fraser’s hard-won philosophy is his belief that every day is a good day. The script may read like a Hallmark greetings card at times, but the show has all the hallmarks of a major hit.


THE LITTLE BIG THINGS at @Sohoplace

Reviewed on 15th September 2023

by Jonathan Evans

Photography by Pamela Raith

 

 

 

 

Previously reviewed at this venue:

Brokeback Mountain | β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜…β˜… | May 2023

The Little Big Things

The Little Big Things

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Tommy – 4*

 

TOMMY

Theatre Royal Stratford East

Opening Night – 12th June 2017

 

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

 

“an energetic and sensory delight”

 

The Who’s Tommy returns to London at the Theatre Royal Stratford East with an energetic production from the New Wolsey Theatre Ipswich in collaboration with Ramps on the Moon. Whilst it has been quite some time since the rock musical, based on the 1969 film Tommy, has graced the British stage and the chance of it appearing aged and irrelevant is high, this production propelled the 60s anthems and its themes into the social climate of 2017.

The story, set in post-war Britain, follows Tommy, the β€œdeaf, dumb and blind kid,” who becomes a β€œpinball wizard” and goes from being rejected by his peers to becoming their new icon. It is told through an energetic soundtrack led through Robert Hyman’s beautiful musical direction, which doesn’t give the audience time to review some of the absurdities within the play’s story.

It is the perfect musical for challenging the ways in which those with disabilities, in particular disabled artists, are viewed in society. There is frequent comparison between the institutionalisation of disabled people in post-war Britain and the ways in which some of those sentiments prevail in certain places within society today. This, however, is certainly not the focus of the production and is a more about the accessibility of the show itself.

 

Shekinah McFarlane, Lukus Alexander, Julian Capolei and Natasha Julien
Foreground - Max Runham as Captain Walker
Foreground - William Grint as Tommy and Stacey Ghent as Mrs Simpson
Matthew Jacobs-Morgan, Max Runham and Julian Capolei
Julian Capolei, William Grint and Matthew Jacobs-Morgan
The cast of Tommy
The Who's Tommy
Natasha Lewis, Garry Robson, Donna Mullings, Stacey Ghent, Becky Barry and Amelia Cavallo
The cast of Tommy
Julian Capolei, Lukus Alexander, William Grint, Matthew Jacobs-Morgan.
William Grint as Tommy
Adam Langstaff, William Grint and Becky Barry
Shekinah McFarlane, Lukus Alexander, Julian Capolei and Natasha Julien

PHOTOGRAPHY BY Β MIKE KWASNIAK

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The show is championed on its choreography (Mark Smith), beautifully incorporating British Sign Language into the movement and dancing in each scene. The chorus, were incredibly energetic and combined their instrumental skills with their other established theatrical abilities. It was an energetic and sensory delight from the very beginning and whilst the second half was overshadowed by the vitality of the first, the production ended on an absolute high.

Tommy, is truly an inclusively sensual experience which at times, like many rock musicals, felt like more concert rather than a musical. The exceptional lighting design from Arnim Freiss really captured the essence of the post-war setting, switching frequently between a colourful display to represent the growing youth movements of the time, as well as a growing sense of community and love, and a more muted tone for scenes displaying more sombre moments in the performance.

It was clear from the production, and the energy within the theatre, that this was a pure collaborative performance attached to a wider creative community of London-based disabled and non-disabled artists. Ramps on the Moon is a β€˜ground-breaking touring project that signals a step change in disability arts provision in the UK’ through collaborating a group of six theatres across the country who are committed to centralise their programmes around Deaf and disabled artists.

 

Reviewed byΒ Claire Minnitt

 

 

Tommy is at the Theatre Royal Stratford East until 17th June

 

 

 

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