Wanted: small actors to play Small Faces in musical

The writer of a musical about the band Small Faces has issued a plea for performers to play the mod heroes when it comes to the West End.

As well as being able to act and play instruments, says former EastEnders actress Carol Harrison, they will have to live up to the group’s name: “They need to be small as all of the band were under 5ft 6in.” All Or Nothing is a “gritty” story of the rise of the east London band, who formed in 1965 and are known for Itchycoo Park and Lazy Sunday. Harrison, who played the mother of Martine McCutcheon’s Tiffany Mitchell in the BBC soap, said she had to persuade producers not to make her show “fluffy” for its West End transfer.

She added: “It took a while to convince the theatre producers that it wasn’t all jazz hands and fluffy. It wouldn’t have been accepted by fans that way. It’s about a gritty time that was very much about sex, drugs and rock’n’roll.”

The show had a successful run in Brighton and comes to The Vaults Theatre in Waterloo in March, where the underground tunnels will be transformed into a Swinging Sixties club. An exhibition will feature photos, mod scooters and clothes from Ben Sherman, which is providing costumes for the show.