Tiny Beautiful Things: by any measure a must see

By David Wilson

Tiny Beautiful Things

By Nia Vardalos

Adapted from the book by Cheryl Strayed

Director: Lee Lewis

Set & Costume Design: Simone Romaniuk

Lighting Designer: Bernie Tan-Hayes

Sound Designer/Composer: Brady Watkins

Stage Manager: Maddison Penglis

Assistant Stage Manager: Tia-Hanee Cleary

Queensland Theatre

Tickets start from $35. Season runs until 8 July 2023 at Billie Brown Theatre. Bookings: https://queenslandtheatre.com.au/plays/tiny-beautiful-things

Lee Lewis and Stephen Geronimos

Tiny Beautiful Things is based on the 2012 book by Cheryl Strayed, a collection of essays compiled from Strayed’s anonymous “Dear Sugar” advice column, and adapted for the stage in 2016 by Nia Vardalos.

This production of Tiny Beautiful Things by Queensland Theatre is, by any measure, a must see. The hard to contain raw emotion of many deeply relatable moments are brought to life through the totally polished and tight performance of four fabulous actors, each at the peak of their powers, and a creative team that is second to none.

Tiny Beautiful Things is not a ‘story’ as such, which is where the real magic lies. These are real moments, real letters and real responses that will connect with every audience member in a real way. This production captured the anonymity of Strayed as Sugar perfectly.

We follow the journey through which the anonymous Sugar, piece by piece, reveals herself to the letter writing strangers. She leans on her own tragic and heartbreaking life experience, full of humour and graphic accounts, to give tender and heartfelt authentic advice. By the time Sugar ultimately revealed her real identity as Sayed to the adoring letter writers, it was clear that she had long before revealed her true self.

Mandy McElhinney is Sugar, the unpaid advice columnist helping strangers navigate the contradictions and complexities of life. Her authentic brand of advice is brutally self-honest, and it is through that we see Sugar at her most raw and vulnerable. There is a unique strength to the powerful connection formed between Sugar and the strangers who seek her advice, captured on stage by the fabulous direction of Lee Lewis through the expert timing and almost conversational moments between the actors. McElhinney’s range is perfect for this challenging, dialogue heavy role and her performance rates with the best I’ve seen in a long time.

The strangers in need of advice are played by Stephen Geronimos (Letter Writer #1), Sepi Burgiani (Letter Writer #2) and Nic Prior (Letter Writer #3), each of whom play many, many letter writers. To refer to them as letter writers 1, 2 and 3 severely understates their major contributions to the play.

While each of the actors embodied multiple letter writers, they each allowed a welcome similarity to their characters. Geronimos was very strong, equally at home being ‘flat-out funny’ as he was delivering possibly the most heart-wrenching moment of the play. Burgiani’s performance was excellent, and her timing in particular, when interacting with Sugar during the fast-paced moments, was first rate. A highlight for me was Prior’s tremendous stage presence and versatility - definitely one to watch.

The stage and set deserve special mention. Simone Romaniuk has done a remarkable job of creating a small, familiar, everyday space that is home to Sugar, while also ingeniously used as the presence of all the letter writing strangers. The trivial acts of daily existence, like making a cup of tea or putting on the washing, serve to highlight the enormity of the issues canvassed in the letters. Hand in hand with the excellent direction and lighting, the audience cannot help but be moved. In particular, the direction of Lewis masters timing - the fast paced back and forth between Sugar and the myriad of letter writers gives way to the slower, quiet compassion that perfectly captures the gravity, as does the strong transition from laugh-out-loud humour to the more difficult to hear moments.

This is an excellent production of a very moving play and I thoroughly encourage you to see it.