AFTER YOU (Tonight at the Coliseum/Stream Theatre)****

 

By Emma

Link: https://www.stream.theatre/home/shows/204 £18 + booking fee

Available until: One more performance at 7.30pm tonight

I have seen a few different new musicals since lockdown. I’ve enjoyed all of them but none of them made me feel like I’d just seen a great new musical. But I really love After You. I do think there are things that could be developed more but I do think this is the best of the new musicals. It was really emotional to watch and I got so into it as soon as the music started!

I really like the story because I’ve never seen a story like this before. Most romantic musicals have a couple who can’t get together for some reason. There are lots of different reasons why a couple might not be able to be together but the reason for this couple’s problems isn’t one I remember seeing before. It is really nice to see something new.

I think Katie Lam has written the script really well and there are some really lovely lyrics. There were a few times where I heard a lyric and I thought it was really special but I can’t remember any of them now. Alex Parker composed the music and he is a really great composer. His music is so nice to listen to and lots of his songs feel like showstoppers. He puts lots of emotion into the music and it goes really well with the lyrics.

The only thing I didn’t like about the musical was that it’s so short. It’s less than an hour and I would like to have watched it for much longer. It only has 2 characters which obviously makes it shorter. One way they could make it longer is by adding other characters who either support the main characters or have a storyline of their own. But the characters and plot are so good it might also be possible to stick with 2 people and just add more songs and more script. It would be so great to see it at a theatre but I think it is a bit short for one evening but maybe it could go in a double bill with another short musical. The Last Five Years is 90 minutes so it might be too long but it has 2 characters and that also has a gorgeous soundtrack so maybe they could go together and have the same cast. Then there is The Space Between by David Hunter and Caroline Kay but that is only 14 minutes so that’s probably too short unless they can make that musical longer too or maybe there’s another short musical which could make it into a trilogy.

Jordan Murphy had a difficult job directing it because there was no set, I don’t think there were any props and the actors were social distancing. He could have just made it a concert performance but instead he got the actors walking around the stage and that made the story feel more real. And we don’t always have a set or props in real life, often when we have conversations with people the place we’re in isn’t part of the conversation. It just happens to be the place where we met and we could easily have met somewhere else. The social distancing seemed natural too, maybe we’re just so used to it now it seems normal. I’m sure some people are meeting each other and liking each other during lockdown but just delaying the touching till they both feel safe with it.

The two main characters are played by Alexia Khadime and Bradley Jaden. They both have really gorgeous voices that go together very well and really suit the music. Alexia’s character (I don’t know their names, maybe we weren’t even told) seems lovely and friendly but there is a sort of sadness in her too. Bradley’s character is really sweet and passionate about astronomy. They make a really good couple.