Tiny Beautiful Things, Queensland Theatre in association with Trish Wadley Productions, Belvoir Street Theatre , 1 Feb-2 Mar

 

Nia Vardalos’ adaptation of Cheryl Strayed’s book “Tiny Beautiful Things” is a small play that contains big thoughts. It takes the format of a recap of the two years from 2010-2012 that Strayed spent writing the advice column for the online literary magazine, “The Rumpus”, where she wrote responses to people struggling with issues with their family, with their love life, with surviving death of their loved ones, their own guilty past, their addictions, traumas, and hopes. She responded by drawing on her own experiences with what she called “Radical honesty”, revealing her own issues with her parents, her previous addictions, her mistakes, and her successes in ways that remain true and powerful over a decade later – because it’s about experiences we all share or will share at some point or another, and about getting comfort from another person’s experiences.

Lee Lewis’ production keeps the scale small – cast of four, one domestic set as Sugar wanders the set clearing up after a busy day with her family and three actors embodying the letter writers open their hearts to her seeking guidance. There’s an honesty and gentleness to the performances – Mandy McElhinney as Sugar carries the heart and the warmth of the story, with Stephen Geronimos, Nic Prior, and Angela Nica Sullen as the three letter writers, each presenting their issues to her and listening as she discusses both theirs and other people’s issues. There’s a cumulative power to each of these conversations – it never just feels like a series of bits, each response digs deeper into Sugar and her own experiences and widens our knowledge – and by the end, we’ve felt an entire journey in the company of a warm and trusted guide.

Simone Romaniuk’s set and costumes give this a comfy home-like intimacy, with Bernie Tan-Hayes’ lighting and Brady Watkins composition and sound design defining the spaces these people live in just right.

While yes, this is a show that could feel like a set of homilies, somehow this is so much more. It’s a celebration of humanity, in our flawed, questing, confused, quizzical, and yearning nature, and it’s a powerful experience.