Last night was the European premiere of Kjersti Long’s new musical; Little Piece of You: An Atypical Musical in Concert, and the 17-year-old has taken the country by storm! The show delves into so many important topics, but at its crux, takes a close look at generational trauma and the importance of sharing experiences.
We get a look into the life of 16-year-old Sidney Hill obsessed Brittany (Dujonna Gift), as she begins to display some of the warning signs of mental health crisis. We also follow her mother, Shannon (Mica Paris), as we learn about her history of mental health struggles; and
watch her dad (David Badella) try to keep the family together in a well-meaning but totally misguided way. This show does not focus on the viewpoint of one particular character but rather attempts to give everybody equal airtime which is incredibly important when exploring a topic like this, and allows for audiences to see themselves in the story in whichever way they can relate.
I think this is done mostly successfully, I would’ve liked to have seen more from the dad character, and his experience caring for two people in his life with whom he has very different relationships and how he deals with that. I also wonder about the portrayal of the character as a little too neutral, and I think the character would’ve held more power in the story if he were to be either completely unwaveringly supportive of his family or the total opposite and find the situation really difficult and take it out on them as a result making him more of a ‘villain’.
The soundtrack is a work of absolute genius, it seamlessly blends rock, pop punk, alternative, soul, and musical theatre in a really beautiful way allowing for so many different styles of music and voices to shine. Mica Paris (MBE) is the UK’s Queen of Soul and has a
beautiful unique tone to her voice that isn’t often seen in combination with classic musical theatre but the way that Kjersti together with Jeremy Long have written the arrangements makes it blend in perfectly and also stand out at the same time.
The 8-strong ensemble performed a gorgeous blend of dance physical theatre, telling a lot of the story entirely through movement. Sophia Adzoa-Moore regularly stole my focus as she brought equal parts charisma, energy, and emotion to the stage without uttering a word. It also must be mentioned the artistic talent and extra work required to take direction and choreography given and translate it to accommodate your own body when it works differently to the other people around you, and Sophia did this seamlessly with utter perfection and precision, a sensational west end debut to be incredibly proud of.
There is a bittersweetness in the timing here that cannot go unnoticed, as an entire generation, not far off from Brittany in age, get to grips with losing a performer who meant a lot to a huge number of people, in circumstances eerily similar to that of Sidney Hill in the
show. Processing grief for someone you idolised but never met is an incredibly unique experience that’s not often given much consideration or respect, and one I’m glad that this show has brought into the spotlight especially at a time where many will be feeling alone and overlooked while grappling with that same experience.
Little Piece of You: An Atypical Musical in Concert is incredibly topical, shining lights on so many important conversations and creating characters that people can relate to in their darkest times. I’m incredibly excited to see where the show goes next and hope to see a full run of it very soon!
