Review: The Last Five Years (Reading Rep)

Review by Daz Gale

⭐️⭐️

It’s been a good week to be a Jason Robert Brown fan, with last week’s rapturously received 30th anniversary concert of Songs For A New World and now a brand new production of his much-loved classic The Last Five Years. This is a musical I hold very dear to my heart, so I gladly ventured to Reading to catch it on the first stop of its mini-tour. Would I find myself smiling at this production or when it came to recommending it, would it be more a case of nobody needs to know?

Premiering in Chicago in 2001, The Last Five Years has popped up in many iterations in the decades since, getting its long-awaited West End debut in 2021, and finally making it to Broadway earlier this year. The story spans five years in time, focusing on the relationship between Jamie and Cathy, who fall in love, get married, and split up in that time. What makes this story so unique is the format in which it is told - through Jamie’s perspective, we see the relationship from start to finish. However, when it comes to Cathy, the timeline is reversed, starting at the end of the relationship and working backwards to their first meeting, only intersecting in the middle at their wedding.

I’ve already mentioned how much I love The Last Five Years. If there is a production of it somewhere, I’m going to see it, and I have been treated to some great productions over the years, from the 2021 West End production, itself a a transfer from its glorious multiple off-West End runs, an older London production starring Samantha Barks and Jonathan Bailey, and a couple streamed versions that entertained us all during the dark days of the 2020 lockdowns. Perhaps it is unfair to compare one production to those that came before it, but when it comes to a show I know and love as much as this one, it is impossible not to do so. And that is where the problems start.

First, let’s focus on the show itself. Jason Robert Brown’s musical remains as gorgeous today as the first time I ever heard these songs. ‘Still Hurting’, ‘Moving Too Fast’ and ‘If I Didn’t Believe In You’ are all prime examples of what a phenomenal talent he is, and rank amongst my favourite musical theatre songs of all time. In that respect, The Last Five Years will always be a five-star show in terms of its content or quality. However, the overall quality can differ based on the interpretation and choices made in each production, and the choices made in this one were incredibly perplexing.

The problem here lies solely with the direction. While I respect Hal Chambers’ attempts to try something new this time around, it backfires spectacularly, resulting in a cold interpretation that fails to connect in any way whatsoever and comes across as very low-energy, though whether that is a common issue or was just noticeable at this specific performance is unclear. The notes the cast have been given very clearly limit them, despite their obvious talents, with line deliveries failing to hit the right beats, and making the messages of the songs and overall story get lost in translation. The Last Five Years needs to be an intimate story to really pay off and though the Reading Rep theatre is extremely intimate in itself, as is the small stage, it still fails to bring the intimacy to the audience, with the two main cast members displaying no chemistry, meaning there is no way to believe in them.

I say the two main cast members, which is a phrase I never thought I’d use in the famous two-hander that is The Last Five Years. That is because of the inexplicable choice to insert the four band members into the story in ways they have no business being. Every time one of the band members joined Jamie or Cathy on stage, I sank into my seat a little bit more. Their verbal responses to certain lines throughout the show were wholly unnecessary and completely destroyed the crucial intimacy of the piece. Yes, the band needs to be on the stage, but there is no world where they need to insert themselves so prominently into a story, reducing the focus on the two main cast members, and preventing any sense of connection between them. I also found myself wondering if ‘A Summer In Ohio’ really needed a kickline added to it? Apparently, it did.

I couldn’t help but feel as if the director had fundamentally misunderstood the story here. Perhaps, not so much misunderstood but misinterpreted. Perhaps this was deliberate, and Chambers wanted to attempt something new, which of course, is admirable. However, what has been presented here is not The Last Five Years as it ever should be presented, in my opinion, that is. If this is anyone’s first experience with this show, they may well respond to it in a much more positive way. For me, though, I couldn’t help being gobsmacked at all the outrageous choices that had been made to the story and the characters.

There is one decent bit of staging I appreciated with the use of a screen behind the stage, allowing either Jamie or Cathy to appear while the other was performing. This felt closer to what any production of The Last Five Years should be aiming for, as the pair are very rarely in the same space, yet this production opted to have them interact far more than any other production I have seen, detracting from some of the jeopardy. Chambers is clearly on to something with the inclusion of this screen - I just wish it had been utilised a bit more.

Martha Kirby and Guy Woolf both demonstrate an abundance of talents in their roles of Cathy and Jamie respectively, particularly when it comes to singing. They deliver perfectly fine versions of Jason Robert Brown’s songs, but have been seriously limited by the choices that have been forced upon them. It is a shame, as this had the potential to be so much stronger than it is, especially with two cast members as fantastic as this.

The Last Five Years remains a great show in itself. The problem is I didn’t recognise it in this production. Some bizarre choices mean it completely loses the essence of what the show should be, resulting in a messy and confused version that lacks any sort of impact. I have never come out of any production of The Last Five Years feeling anything other than elated and moved by the story. I came out of this production feeling cold and frustrated at how much of a misfire this was. I would go as far as to say this is one of the biggest theatre disappointments I’ve ever experienced. Of course, some will rightly disagree with it, as is the nature of theatre’s subjectivity, and I would encourage anyone to still give this a chance and make up your own mind. My lasting thought with this production ended up being a twist on one of the songs from the show, and that is they can do better than that.

The Last Five Years plays at Reading Rep until 12th October. It then heads to the Barn Theatre in Cirencester and Ustinov Studio in Bath. Tickets from https://www.readingrep.com/whats-on/the-last-five-years/ 

Photos by Alex Tabrizi