The Little Big Things - @sohoplace / NT At Home

[blobble84]

Contrary to others, this was a real misfire for me. I found the script weak with the characters lacking depth, much of the music unmemorable (with some poor lyrics), and didn’t think it was well directed. But I realise I’m in the minority here and the audience certainly lapped it up.

[anthony40]

Sept 5, 2023 19:57:21 GMT danb said:

Sept 5, 2023 19:51:55 GMT anthony40 said:

It’s bloody brilliant! Never heard of Henry Fraser- I don’t follow sports of any kind- but it’s extremely moving!

Don’t you start blubbing young Anthony!! 🤣😢🤣

I have to admit, I was tearing up a little!

Now, give me a cast recording!

[theatre2023]

I’ll be the contrarian here … the Little Big Things is a nice enough evening out with one or two catchy tunes, but it certainly isn’t worthy of the heaps of praise it’s receiving or the predictions of it being “the next great big British musical”

The sentimentality of the story ( and inclusive casting ) rather than the brilliance of the production is what is driving the show ( or the responses to it )

Act 2 is significantly better than act 1 …

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler - click to view}
I just wished they’d get rid of the ridiculous flying sequence that more closely resembles a primary school nativity scene. Strapping the wheelchair to a fly line is just beyond schmaltzy and comes across as a poor man’s attempt at the Billy Elliot dream sequence complete with billows of smoke.

As a side observation - despite the emotional nature of the subject matter - they still haven’t been able to truly hit those emotional buttons ( which one would have thought would have been a very easy get ) No one was balling their eyes out nor tissues being passed around where I was seated in the stalls … contrast this to Next to Normal which has audiences quite literally sobbing *every single evening* by the end of the show.

[robertb213]

A bit of eye-mist from me too. The "Guide You" scene was just brilliant, and loads of lovely family moments that were really sweet as well. I'm back reviewing it next week so it'll be interesting to see if they make any changes between now and then.

[jamb0r]

I echo all the praise that’s been shared so far, I loved everything about this. Wonderful cast, effective staging, beautiful lighting, quite a lot of proper belly laughs and a really heartwarming story. I don’t think there were any dud songs for me too - I loved them all and can’t wait for a full cast recording. I sobbed throughout but left with a big smile on my face.

If I had to be really picky I think they could do with covering up the lift mechanism for the central part of the stage, it was a bit distracting.

I know there are some people on here that ask about loud noises - there are some towards the end of the second act which I was not expecting at all and really made me jump.

(Anthony were you wearing a green shirt? I was going to say hello but was on the opposite side)

[theatrelover123]

Will write more later but generally I will say that I don’t think this is worth the gushing praise. Lots of heart and a committed cast and nice staging. Funny in places (mainly Agnes). Great to see broad representation on stage. Shoddy script, terrible lyrics, too many earnest overemoting and glib fun songs, naff choreography, weirdly offensive and patronising about disability in focussing on how everybody around Henry was feeling but little about his feelings and struggles in comparison (and not even showing him with his brush in his mouth). Felt like a touring production of Our House performed by NYMT. What a shame

[ShoreditchTom]

I'm afraid I wasn't a huge fan of this - I found a lot of the dialog and setup really cringey, and whilst there are some funny moments and the cast work hard I didn't think the songs were great and found a lot of the narrative and character development all a bit clunky and cliched. I didn't feel I'd been taken on an emotional journey. Not a fan of the choreography either and some of the colour based lighting cues started to get annoying!

So clearly on here my views are in the minority and I genuinely hope the show does well but I did notice a few people left at the interval so I think this one might be a bit marmite!

Great to finally visit Soho Place however, nice theatre!

[thistimetomorrow]

phew glad to see a few other people not thinking this was the bee's knees. I was very underwhelmed at the interval given all the praise I had seen on here, but I did enjoy act 2 a lot more than act 1. I still left the show thinking it was fine (not amazing or awful, just fine).

[theatrelover123]

Sept 5, 2023 22:13:44 GMT thistimetomorrow said:

phew glad to see a few other people not thinking this was the bee's knees. I was very underwhelmed at the interval given all the praise I had seen on here, but I did enjoy act 2 a lot more than act 1. I still left the show thinking it was fine (not amazing or awful, just fine).

A fair few empty seats after the interval tonight 

[amp09]

Thanks to the rave review from the first night for the tip off for this. So glad I caught it tonight and will definitely be making return visits. A real heartwarming night at the theatre with lots of laughter and quite a few tears.

I completely see the musical comparisons to Dear Evan Hansen particularly in the ensemble numbers - it’s modern theatrical pop music and definitely not one for the traditionalists.

A few weak links in the cast - despite loving Linzi Hateley, I felt she overacted this, had terrible ‘mum’ jokes that didn’t land and her character was rather unlikable. Probably the biggest let down for me. Agnes the physio was absolutely hilarious, so many witty one liners although felt her singing was pretty poor.

Adore Jonny Aimes in everything he’s in - such a beautiful tone to his voice and he delivers a great performance here. Also incredibly impressed by Ed Larkin, the emotion in his performance had me in tears several times.

Looking forward to the cast recording and have had the 3 released tracks on repeat all day. Perhaps give them a listen before booking if anyone’s unsure with the marmite commentary starting to come through. 4 stars from me.

[Stephen]

Interesting hearing the mixed opinions. Not enough to make me buy a ticket to be honest. The few songs released on the album so far seem unmemorable, poor lyrics and very 'generic' sounding.

[intoanewlife]

Well it was nice to finally see the inside of Soho Place...

My friend and I merely hated the show, while my other half hated it with a passion.

Act 1 was watchable enough to make us stick around, but Act 2 was like Chinese water torture.

The cast ranged from fantastic to average and some of the directorial decisions were frankly mind-blowing.

The staging and lighting were ok, but none of the music stood out for me.

It is clearly a 'for the masses' show and I have very little doubt it'll probably find a large doting audience, but it really should not be mentioned in the same breath as the rather good DEH or absolutely phenomenal CFA as it is not even a close to either of them on any level.

1/5

[partytentdown]

Also agree that this is an interesting and moving real-life story but I wasn't sure about the production. It has a rather 'cheesy' edge like it's been written for a youth company and everyone is a bit too 'polished' to be a believable character. Sadly the songs aren't particularly memorable (though it's great to see Hateley back on a stage).

[alece10]

Sept 5, 2023 21:45:06 GMT jamb0r said:

I echo all the praise that’s been shared so far, I loved everything about this. Wonderful cast, effective staging, beautiful lighting, quite a lot of proper belly laughs and a really heartwarming story. I don’t think there were any dud songs for me too - I loved them all and can’t wait for a full cast recording. I sobbed throughout but left with a big smile on my face.

If I had to be really picky I think they could do with covering up the lift mechanism for the central part of the stage, it was a bit distracting.

I know there are some people on here that ask about loud noises - there are some towards the end of the second act which I was not expecting at all and really made me jump.

(Anthony were you wearing a green shirt? I was going to say hello but was on the opposite side)

Agree about the lift mechanism but as I enjoyed the show so much it didn't really bother me too much. I think if you are sitting higher up you wouldn't notice it so much but in the stalls you are level with it so more noticeable.

[intoanewlife]

Sept 6, 2023 6:47:15 GMT alece10 said:

Sept 5, 2023 21:45:06 GMT jamb0r said:

I echo all the praise that’s been shared so far, I loved everything about this. Wonderful cast, effective staging, beautiful lighting, quite a lot of proper belly laughs and a really heartwarming story. I don’t think there were any dud songs for me too - I loved them all and can’t wait for a full cast recording. I sobbed throughout but left with a big smile on my face.

If I had to be really picky I think they could do with covering up the lift mechanism for the central part of the stage, it was a bit distracting.

I know there are some people on here that ask about loud noises - there are some towards the end of the second act which I was not expecting at all and really made me jump.

(Anthony were you wearing a green shirt? I was going to say hello but was on the opposite side)

Agree about the lift mechanism but as I enjoyed the show so much it didn't really bother me too much. I think if you are sitting higher up you wouldn't notice it so much but in the stalls you are level with it so more noticeable.

No it looks just as shoddy from upstairs lol

[BVM]

I think it's a bit early to call it Marmite - classically a 50/50 love/hate split with very few in the middle.

So far:

12 4/5 star votes - 63% of voters
2 1/2 star votes - 11%
And 5 in the middle on 3 stars - 26%

Guess it is a pattern seen on this board over and over. First couple of previews get raves. Then those that didn't like it come in. So it'll be interesting to see where this one "settles."

[anthony40]

Sept 5, 2023 21:45:06 GMT jamb0r said:

(Anthony were you wearing a green shirt? I was going to say hello but was on the opposite side)

Yes, jam0r, that was me in the green shirt.

[alece10]

Someone posted on Twitter saying there needs to be a cast recording and the show replied "watch this space".

[c4ndyc4ne]

Sept 6, 2023 19:21:25 GMT alece10 said:

Someone posted on Twitter saying there needs to be a cast recording and the show replied "watch this space".

three numbers are already on spotify. 

[Steve]

I saw the first preview of this, sitting one row behind Henry Fraser's family, with Henry Fraser on the right, his wheelchair occupying the space of my original seat.

The family and Fraser himself evidently enjoyed all the irreverent humour of the production, laughing alot. As to the rest, I could never be sure, but they clearly loved it overall.

I voted 4 stars myself as I feel this is a rousing, entertaining, thoughtful and meaningful show, with my reservation being that it short-changes us on how inspirational Henry, his family and friends actually are.

Some spoilers follow. . .

Reading the book on which the show is based, it struck me that the "Little Big Things" of the title are threefold:

(1) A little thing like diving into the sea can result in a big thing such as your whole life changing. I was not familiar with "undulating" undersea surfaces, and, like Henry, would not have expected the deepness gradient as you run into the sea to suddenly become shallow. This could easily have happened to me, and this show captures this random sense of human fragility as well as how different Henry must become after his accident from who he was before.

Jonny Amies is marvellous as Henry before the accident, the shy, sporty innocent, and as his more knowing compassionate future, Ed Larkin is almost as good. For me, this dialogue of two Henrys (similar to Sondheim's Follies, in which young and old interact) is the heart of the show, it works brilliantly, and it echoes the transformation described in the original book;

(2) To surmount seemingly insurmountable obstacles, doing one little thing after another can lead to achieving apparently impossible big things. As in Laozi's philosophy, "a journey of a 1000 miles begins with a single step."

I felt that the show dilutes Fraser's herculean achievements, in this aspect. One of the songs in the show is "Miles and Miles," and is one of the best, but in no way does this show reflect all the single steps that Fraser took to achieve the metaphorical miles he travels. For instance, on stage, the paraplegic Ed Larkin, playing post-accident Henry, bombs around the stage in a wheelchair using his hands. But one of the great focuses of the book is how, as a tetraplegic, without use of his hands, absolutely nobody ever thought the real Henry would get in a wheelchair without a head brace, but how, using his shoulder muscles, a special chair, and his rugby-related exercise discipline, he achieved what nobody with his level of injuries at Stoke-Mandeville Hospital had ever achieved before.

Further, in the show, a heroic doctor called Dr Graham and a physiotherapist called Agnes inspire a doubting Henry back to life, but in Henry Fraser's book, the hospital and physios are so focused on expectation management, believing Fraser will be 18 months in hospital and unable ever to lift his own head, believing Henry's ambitious goals will damage him psychologically, that Henry and his family must seek outside help to achieve what the medical establishment thought was impossible.

So, when Fraser says in his book that it felt like travelling "miles and miles" to get from that hospital bed to the outside, the real journey of Henry is more awe-inspiring than the show suggests.

(3) To feel motivation in unexpected and dire circumstances, the little acts of love of family and friends and teachers and acquaintances amount to one great big inspiration to motivation. This aspect of the love of family and friends, written about by Fraser in his book, is badly diluted by the show, which sexes up the drama of the plot by conjuring up internecine family battles that are an anathema to anything in Fraser's book.

In the show, Linzi Hately's mother frequently comes off badly, tossing out bitter accusations and doubts and whatnot, but in the book, her (less dramatic but more inspirational) stiff upper lipped restraint over her own emotions is paramount to her directing a million hospital visitors her son's way, while friends insure she never needs to cook a meal, by cooking for the family, so that the family members can instead give all their time to Henry. And all these countless visitors must travel 50 miles to Stoke Mandeville just to visit Henry, which they did, day in and day out. The way these community members come together in Fraser's book is much more "Come From Away" inspirational than the dramatised doubts of the family members depicted in the show, whereby they turn on each other.

That said, the anthemic and rousing style of the songs in this musical, whereby one voice builds to multiple choral voices, does quite wonderfully reflect the way Fraser's whole community of people come together.

Anyway, Malinda Parris sings with glorious positivity and belt as Dr Graham, Amy Trigg is hilarious as the dominatrix physio, and while these characters are obviously embellished composites, I have to admit they are great fun to watch.

In the end, any telling of Henry Fraser's story, even one with a dramatically sexed up dossier (the character of potential love interest, Katie, seems to be conjured wholecloth out of nowhere), is an important and meaningful story, and this telling is entertaining, in both it's truths and it's made up dramatic bits, and the anthemic music (I could hear echoes of U2 in some numbers lol) makes it all that bit more emotional and fun.

But, having read the book, Henry Fraser and his family and friends remain more of an inspiration to me than this benign,fun, rousing musical gets to grips with.

4 stars from me.

[alece10]

Great review Steve. Looks like I was sitting directly opposite you on the night.
I have not read the book so it was interesting to hear your comparisons.
I agree with your point about actor Henry using the wheelchair on stage. Guess there was some artistic licence there and I can kind of see why they went that way.

[BVM]

Sept 5, 2023 23:06:22 GMT intoanewlife said:

Well it was nice to finally see the inside of Soho Place...

My friend and I merely hated the show, while my other half hated it with a passion.

Act 1 was watchable enough to make us stick around, but Act 2 was like Chinese water torture.

The cast ranged from fantastic to average and some of the directorial decisions were frankly mind-blowing.

The staging and lighting were ok, but none of the music stood out for me.

It is clearly a 'for the masses' show and I have very little doubt it'll probably find a large doting audience, but it really should not be mentioned in the same breath as the rather good DEH or absolutely phenomenal CFA as it is not even a close to either of them on any level.

1/5

LOL, so, errr, a bit like Come From Away then?!

(FWIW I found the staging as good as Come From Away, the lighting better and the music much better! But then melody is of course subjective!)

[BVM]

So I saw this on Monday night, thanks entirely to the 15 quid offer posted on here. Was a show that was vaguely on my radar as I am such a fan of Linzi Hately and also was keen to see how Soho Place got on with a musical (having only seen Brokeback Mountain there which I loved). The two songs that had been released I did find slightly generic though and I confess I didn't actually have a clue what the show was about until the day I went.

Anyway, sometimes in musical theatre everything aligns and you have a wonderful evening. This was one of those occasions. I loved the story - I've read quite a bit about Henry since Monday and it seems, within the confines of a musical, to be pretty realistic. Though I very much acknowledge Steve points above that there may have been some inconsistencies. It really pulled on my heartstrings and I found myself tearing up several times. Which is actually not that common for me! But this guy's story, his determination and what he achieved was phenomenal. I think it helps sometimes when the characters are so relatable. I very much went to school with people like him and my mates had Mums like Linzi. This can be very powerful (and I am in the dry eyed camp at Evan Hansen and Come From Away - I just mention these as this show seems to have been compared to them).

I am totally driven by music usually so it's very unusual for me to come out raving about a story! The music was great though and served the piece well. On the downside there was nothing I could hum the next day! But I absolutely have the urge to dive into the CD when released which I guess is what you want from hearing a musical for the first time. (My only reservation on the music was that I'd like to have had a few more bangers - but then I find myself saying this all the time!). Sound was stunning and band sounded amazing. No mean feat in the round in a second preview. 

Cast were awesome, not a weak link. Linzi was glorious (though I confess I do fanboy here and when she stood literally next to my seat on first circle in last song I nearly died).

Staging was fantastic - I am not a massive fan of in the round usually but for once it really worked. Also helped having the space for the wheelchair users to move around and come in and out on ramps from all 4 corners. Set was simple but effective. Lighting was stunning I thought. Very warm. Very colourful. Totally in keeping with the feel of the piece. And I loved the floor which I assume was made up of LEDs and the colours shapes and patterns that kept moving and evolving over it. Gorgeous. I was sat in the first circle and think the view is probs best from here for this reason.

I do wonder what the audience will end up becoming for this. It is a very simple and easy emotional heartstrings show (the opposite of Next To Normal which I saw the next day which is complex and emotional) and I do wonder if due to that there will be a fangirl invasion before long. I sat to two (very nice) girls who had seen Waitress 5 times! We had a really nice chat (and I didn't tell them about my dislike of Waitress lol). They loved it and am sure will be telling their friends.

A perfect audience. No phones, no singing, no talking, no drunks. There was a bit of oooing and ahhhing from my neighbours in the second half at more emotional points but it didn't bother me.

One other slight criticism - I did wonder if should have had a few moments where could have been more depressing. These people must have gone through hell and despite all the positivity they must have had some very dark times. It was emotional in an uplifting and heartwarming way but I would also happily have teared up at some gut wrenching moments. It was perhaps slightly sugar coated. But it was developed with Henry himself so I assume that's what all the team and the family wanted to portray!

Anyway - new British musicals are so rare - so happy this one hit the spot.

4.5 stars (Minus one for lack of (to my taste) bangers. Interestingly I came out humming Living For The Normal from Styles and Drew Soho Cinders and Somewhere Someplace Sometime from DVO Tell Me On A Sunday. Make of this what you will).

[Jon]

I'm not sure if this will be the next Heathers or Six mostly because it's not that type of show, it's more akin to Come From Away

I assume that it'd be quite difficult for even an actor in a wheelchair to portray a tetraplegic hence why they decided to forgo that element. 

It's interesting about the comments about Fran Fraser not coming across well in the musical compared to the book but actually I thought it was fairly realistic about how she blames herself and her family for Henry's accident. 

[partytentdown]

Presumably the real people had sign-off of the script at the writing stage so they are happy with how they are portrayed?