Big and Little Howard come full circle

People often ask Big Howard how his Big Howard & Little Howard show could possibly transfer to the stage.

The fact is that it has actually come full circle. It was on stage that it all started, explains Howard who brings Little Howard And The Magic Pencil Of Life And Death to

Horsham’s Capitol on Wednesday June 1 at 2pm (tickets on 01403 750220).

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“I come from a stand-up background, and I try to make the show as funny as possible. About a quarter of the fanmail we get isn’t from children at all. We get emails from Joanna, aged eight, but also from Paul, aged 33 and a half!

“Little Howard actually started off as a festival show for adult audiences. It took me a long time to realise that a man talking to a cartoon boy could be a children’s show as well! The first family show that I did was an adults show with all the rude words taken out! And it worked well!”

And so it became the BBC One TV show Little Howard’s Big Question - tales of Big Howard and his animated six-year-old Little Howard, a show which is now on the road touring the theatres.

In the piece, everything is going well for Little Howard: he has his own TV show, best-selling book, has appeared on The Royal Variety Performance and sometimes Big Howard lets him drive. But things are about to get a little more complicated as Little Howard discovers that he was created by a magic pencil which could give his life a third dimension, but also has the power to destroy him...

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Big Howard, for one, gets so swept up by it all that even he forgets that Little Howard isn’t a real person.

“Initially Little Howard was just me as a kid. I am dyslexic and as a kid, I misunderstood a lot of things about the world. The show was literally about misunderstanding the world.”

And so it has continued, offering a kid’s-eye perspective on life: “He is very inquisitive. He is six years old. He is a little bit naughty but most of his naughtiness comes from his wanting to find out about the world.”

Related topics: