Big and Little

Live Action Set’s Big and Little begins with a set of fingers peeking through the Brick’s black curtain and ends with two friends seated side by side on a bare stage gazing on an exquisite sunset. The fingers belong a tall, thin unnamed clown (Big) who reveals himself slowly: first the fingers of one hand, then the other; an arm, a leg and finally, the most magnificent pair of boots it will ever be your privilege to see. We know this because of the way Big presents them to the audience. The fact of them make him smile, dance, point and celebrate. His joy knows no bounds. He dances off the stage, glad to be in possession of such wondrous boots.

Another clown appears. He is Little, short in height if not in stature. He is not joyful. He is after something. He follows Big off the stage and when big reappears wearing only one boot, we know exactly what Little is after. Big looks at his barefoot and he is sad. When he looks at his other foot though and sees a boot he is happy. Big is not very difficult to please. This bodes well for the rest of the play.

A friendship develops between the two and the rest of Big and Little consists of loosely related episodes chronicling a week in the life of these two friends. Coming in at a quick 25 minutes, each of day of the week reveals the deepening relationship and culminates in the aforementioned sunset.

It’s a simple scene. Quiet. Dimly lit. We never see the sun there is never any doubt that the pair are looking at it. The silence allows the pair the space to take in its beauty and in doing so, they become a reflection of it. It’s an incredibly effective and generous scene.

Live Action Set’s blurb in the festival brochure describes the two as “idiots” and “bumbling,” an assessment I find both harsh and, more importantly, misleading. The pair are clumsy and simple-minded but Director Sara Richardson does such a fine job highlighting the reality and the poetry of their relationship, that idiocy never comes into play.

Big and Little had its final showing at the Festival on Thursday, September 11, 2008. Further projects for this Minneapolis, Minnesota can be found on their website.