Last Thursday night Stuart and I went to see new musical The Little Big Things @Sohoplace Theatre in London's glitzy West End.
Based on the 2017 inspirational best-seller The Little Big Things: The Inspirational Memoir of the Year, the musical tells the story Henry Fraser, a promising young rugby player, who at the age of 17 suffered a terrible accident leaving him paralysed.
The show (music, Nick Butcher; lyrics by Butcher and Tom Ling; book, Joe White; director, Luke Sheppard) sees Fraser (Ed Larkin) in a wheelchair and the uninjured Fraser (Jonny Amies) inhabit the same space.
Every aspect of the auditorium is put to use, from its moving stage to the excellent sound system. The space is fully accessible too allowing many disabled performers to take centre stage. Larkin is himself a rugby player and provides a calm presence to his erratic parents and three other brothers spin around. Amy Trigg is standout too as Agnes, a sexy physiotherapist who encourages Henry on his journey of miraculous recovery and eventual development as a painter.
The intense atmosphere is mirrored by the power-pop music, which defaults to boy-band punch-the-air triumph. And it's none the worse for that.
Most movingly perhaps is a statement made towards the end of the second half by the uninjured Fraser to his older, disabled self: “I can’t wait to become you.”
Great stuff.
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