THE LAST FIVE YEARS (Southwark Playhouse/Stream Theatre)*****

By Aashiq

Link: https://www.stream.theatre/home £18 +£3 booking fee

Available until: Further livestreams on Friday 27^th November at 7.30pm, Saturday 28^th November at 2.30pm and 7.30pm, and Sunday 29^th November at 5pm.

The Last Five Years is a great musical for lockdown. So great, it’s been done twice. A filmed version with Lauren Samuels and Danny Becker, both filming their own section of the music. (And they were wonderful. I absolutely adore Lauren and Danny. They could probably sing one of Donald Trump’s speeches and I’d still love them. Well, probably. If I put them on mute, anyway.) And now a filmed version of Southwark Playhouse’s staged production, starring Molly Lynch and Oli Higginson.

It’s probably very naughty of me to compare the two musicals, but I think the two productions together have both shown that it’s a great musical for lockdown because it is very easy for the two actors to avoid each other and there are different ways of presenting the musical.

The two productions I saw had a completely different feel to them, but they are both equally brilliant. (Molly and Oli actually don’t avoid each other and they use the same props, but maybe they’re an actual couple which would be too cute with the rhyming names. I’ve always wanted to do that, but I never quite liked to ask Hiba Elchikhe to get a sex change. I mean, would you?) I felt like Lauren and Danny’s production emphasised the separation, but Molly and Oli’s had more of a feeling of the characters’ just missing out on each other – not literally because of the unusual way the story is told, but you see them passing close to each other onstage or moving into a position the other one has just vacated. It shows the strength of the musical that both ways work.

Now I’m just going to talk about the production I’m supposed to be talking about. It originally opened in March, then it closed because of you know what. It reopened in September, then it closed because of… you know where I’m going with this. But they’re now offering livestreams. Just to warn you, you can pause these livestreams, but when you hit play again, it will jump forwards again and you’ll miss whatever happened when the livestream was paused. So don’t pause it. I only paused it accidentally and I didn’t miss much, but I did miss a bit and I AM ANNOYED.

The Last Five Years, by James Robert Brown, is a short musical without an interval, but with the amount of emotion the characters go through, it feels like a full-length show. The music is absolutely stunning and it uses a number of different styles, including pop, jazz, classical and folk. It also makes extensive use of music in waltz time, which is far too rare in musical theatre, and some of these songs are exceptionally beautiful. ‘I Could Never Rescue You’ is one of my favourite songs in the world, even though it wasn’t exactly my lucky song when I used it in an audition. But I guess if I go around singing breakup songs at people, I can’t really expect them to call me back. I imagine even casting directors have some pride.

It’s an unusual musical. There are two characters, Jamie and Cathy. They have a big love story which is just them taking it in turns to sing songs, telling the story of their relationship. Except that Jamie tells his story chronologically and Cathy starts from the end of the story and does it all backwards. They only meet at their wedding, though in this production, they are seen together, even though they’re not really communicating. The first time I saw it, I was aware time was jumping around, but I didn’t realise Cathy was going backwards till I read about it. It didn’t spoil my enjoyment at all and maybe it’s obvious to everyone else, but maybe it’s something you do need to know first. I don’t know if the musical would be just as good if it was all in chronological order, but the way it is told is really powerful and emotional and it totally works. And what a great idea! I bet the story would be even more fun in reverse and I’ll be five years younger by the time I get to the beginning of the story so win-win! (Though it depends on how far I go back. I don’t really want to go back to school. Is that part of the deal?)

Jonathan O’Boyle’s production is on a small set (designed by Lee Newby) with a piano in the middle. It’s quite dark (though maybe that’s just my screen) with lots of gorgeous blue lighting. (I do love a bit of blue lighting when there isn’t any purple.) The piano is played by both Jamie and Cathy (brilliantly) during the course of the show as they accompany each other. It’s a great idea as it gives more of a sense of a connection between the couple, as though they are kind of with each other, even though they’re moving in different directions. Oli also plays the guitar and Molly plays the ukulele. Fangirling right here. (Yes. Boys fangirl.) Molly can even play the piano, sing and hold a glass at the same time. How does anyone even do that?

The singing is beautiful. There’s not much opportunity for the voices to blend, but they do. It’s so well-acted all the way through. Molly and Oli cope with the instruments, the props, the absolute sheer overwhelming EMOTION of it all. (I said to my husband that if he wanted to divorce me, he’d better wait till tomorrow because I CAN’T EVEN. He gave me a bit of a funny look, but he’s used to me not making sense. If I ever do, it’s usually a coincidence.)

The Last Five Years is a beautiful story, told beautifully in both directions by two really beautiful characters who make a beautiful connection across five years. Even without properly seeing them together, you ship them. Stream. It.