A Small Town Northern Tale follows the early life of a city boy moving to a small Northern town. Going up against racism, class prejudice, and bullying of various other forms, it’s a powerfully affecting show that shows glimmers of truly sparkling potential.
Thanks to the on-the-pulse British humour and an assured performance from writer and performer Nathan Jonathan, the show instantly welcomes the audience into the pocket of society it portrays. Jonathan exhibits an impressive finesse on stage, even when dealing with surprise circumstances like latecomers.
He addresses the audience with stand-up style, dropping witty observations and contemporary references that you can’t help but chuckle at. His warm inclusion of the audience makes it impossible not to lean in and want to learn more.
A Small Town Northern Tale does a lot with a little, with especially good use of lighting to both spotlight Jonathan when the focus is on him and make him a blank silhouette on stage. In those moments, he can represent anyone in a similar situation, forcing the perspective of the show far wider than the small stage.
However, the one-hour runtime would have benefitted from tighter pacing in the middle section. Some of the exposition dragged, while some of the school scenes were overly repetitive. The first and third acts were delivered with a compelling skill that raised goosebumps, but the overall effect was let down by the pacing.
Nonetheless, A Small Town Northern Tale still highlights an important message about learning violence from the generations before and what pushes men to it. A closer examination of masculinity would have been even more interesting, yet the show skates over this in some areas.
A Small Town Northern Tale ends on a beautiful note about the positive impact of art that leaves you not necessarily with a warm feeling, but a valuable one.
