Theatre: The Last 5 Years

Tonight we went to see Starshowcase's production of The Last 5 Years at theatre severn in Shrewsbury.

The staging was simple, a composite set with different areas for different scenes.  This worked really well until the midway point when they flew in an outdoorsy scene which looked as though it was borrowed from a panto.  It just jarred with the rest of the setting which was very simplistic.

Jamie was played by Chris Jenkins and he was very convincing as the talented young writer travelling forward through the relationship. I loved his voice and the seemingly boundless energy that he brought to the role.  Cathy was played by Kirsty Francis, she too had a striking voice and she was great at the emotional elements to the role as well as having a cheeky look which was totally endearing.

The dynamic of the musical is that it is the story of a relationship with Jamie travelling through the relationship from start to finish and Cathy starts at the end and travels backwards. 

So apart from a couple of teeny tiny blips this was a great production. My major complaint was as the people of Shropshire who did not turn out to see what is a fab piece of contemporary musical theatre the auditorium was depressingly empty. We took my parents who definitely enjoyed it though they were surprised at the lack of an interval.

If you get the chance go see it.