When I grow up, I’m going to be happy.

The desire to be happy was the nine-year-old Thomas Klopper’s (Benjamin Desjardins III) greatest wish. Thomas wasn’t an ordinary boy, because he saw extraordinary things. Things most people seem to ignore: canals bursting with tropical fish, hailstorms in summer and plagues of hopping frogs. Thomas wrote about them all in his book, The Book of Everything.

Pictured: Benjamin Desjardins (III) as Thomas Klopper next to Rohan Murphy (III) as Mrs Klopper

Pictured in header: Cast and crew

Richard Tulloch’s theatrical adaptation of the Dutch children’s author Guus Kuijer’s acclaimed book clutched the hearts and challenged the minds of audiences, regardless of age. Like many wonderful things, The Book of Everything came to Kuijer in an unexpected way. He had every intention of writing a book about happiness called The Adventures of a Happy Child, but then he received a visit from a man named Mr Klopper whom he did not know, and he handed Kuijer an old exercise book titled The Book of Everything, and this is where Thomas’ story began. Through the eyes of a child, we see the world and can only be reminded of how impressionable young people are.

Pictured: Joseph Walsh (III) as Mrs van Amersfoort

It was an absolute delight working with these mature young actors as they tackled some big themes with courage and sensitivity. With the ever-prevalent concerns about domestic violence in our current times and terrifying statistics that don’t seem to be lowering, I feel this story needed to be brought to the fore and shared within our community, where we seek to encourage our boys to be brave when uncertain and to speak up when they know something isn’t right.

Pictured: Whole cast in church