THE LAST 5 YEARS

BY JASON ROBERT BROWN

@ UK TOUR (Reading Rep, The Barn, The Ustinov)

Directed by Hal Chambers, Design by Ethan Cheek, Lighting by Jonathon Chan, Sound Design by Matthew Giles, Production Photography by Alex Tabrizi .

The Last Five Years is a deeply intimate two-hander musical that charts the rise and fall of a relationship between struggling actress Cathy and ambitious novelist Jamie — while Jamie tells his story from beginning to end, Cathy moves in reverse, from heartbreak to first spark.

“Brown’s script doesn’t make too many demands by way of set and, at first sight, it appears that designer Ethan Cheek is leaning into this. A platform, a cardboard box and a few chairs are surrounded by a screen, but together with lighting designer Jonathan Chan, this space is full of surprises that help the story along. The screens illuminate to reflect the mood, the platform unfolds to form a bed and a screen painted with delicate clouds occasionally dissolves to show Jamie or Cathy outside of their timeline. It could be distracting, but it all feeds into the narrative perfectly.” - The Stage

“The intimate size of the theatre is especially effective here, intensifying the emotional impact of every scene. This intimacy is actually emphasised by the central platform and screen behind it, with the musicians arranged around it for most of the action, until they are drawn into it towards the end. It is thanks to Cheek and to Chan’s lighting that the deceivingly basic set is nuanced to reflect mood, as the walls change colour from shades of primrose to blue, to mauve to grey as the story of the five years unfolds in both directions.” - Whats on stage

“Lit windows that gave the whole thing a sort of forensic quality, as well as what I perceived as a sort of haunting intensity. The innermost plinth stage also created the idea of perhaps an art exhibition, especially when the two of them were standing a top of it as the did at the very beginning of the show… and it suggested this relationship as something to be studied.“ -MickeyJoTheatre