Maybe I'd see how you could be so certain that we had no chance at all...
On Saturday night I went to see The Last Five Years. As the tickets were a gift for a friend, I didn't invest much excitement in it - but would have if I'd known how brilliant it was going to be. I may have even bought tickets earlier for the chance to see it again, considering my disappointment on discovering it was their final performance.
In the incredibly intimate setting of Reginald Theatre, the one-act musical follows a couple's relationship over the course of five years with an ingenious timeline and some fantastic songs.
The opening scene features Cathy Hyatt (struggling actress, portrayed by Marika Aubrey) lamenting the end of her marriage to Jamie Wellerstein (successful writer, played by Rob Mills) in Still Hurting. It's followed up with his rejoicing in a new love interest (Shiksa Goddess) and the story continues as such, with Jamie moving forward through their relationship and Cathy moving backwards.
In the final scene, she is bidding him farewell after their first date as he is packing his things and leaving (Goodbye Until Tomorrow/I Could Never Rescue You).
Their first song together isn't until halfway through the show, where their timelines crossover for a marriage proposal (The Next Ten Minutes). They sounded amazing together - I had goose bumps.
Whilst being catchy, beautiful and clever, the songs emote every single step of their journey and mirror each other on opposite sides of the timeline (their excitement at meeting each other, their frustration with each other, their realisation that it's over).
The Last Five Years represents the epitome of the term 'bittersweet'. The audience knows from the beginning that their relationship is doomed, which makes genuine love, respect and affection they once shared all the more heartbreaking. Especially when the timeline marries up every sanguine moment early in their relationship with a melancholy one from the latter part.
Having seen Mills perform in Grease and Wicked, as well as in a solo concert, I wasn't too sure how he'd handle such an emotional role - and acting in general, considering the emotional subject matter - but he was superb. His singing has vastly improved, his acting was flawless, his American accent was consistent throughout and I especially enjoyed his old-man Jewish accent in The Schmuel Song. Marika was also brilliant but, as a seasoned stage professional, I expected nothing less.
The set was simple yet effective - two intersecting catwalks with chairs and drawers piled in the V of the X - and five musicians sitting behind the stage.
I'm a little ashamed I'd never heard of this production until now - it's one of the best I've ever seen (quite impressive considering how small it is in relation to most of them). But it's size didn't diminish the impact or emotion - if anything, it made it more palpable because the tiny theatre made everything much more immediate and confronting.
I tweeted the following out of genuine enjoyment, but it was nice to see that the praise had been received and acknowledged by the leading actress:
