READING Repertory Theatre has taken a bold new step with its latest production, branching out into musical theatre for the first time with The Last Five Years.
Written by Tony-award winning Jason Robert Brown, the production follows the relationship of two New Yorkers as they wrestle with their careers and their lives together.
As Cathy (Martha Kirby) struggles to become an actress, Jamie’s (Guy Woolf) career as a writer takes off, leading to a disparity between them which begins to threaten a whirlwind romance and show the cracks in their relationship.
The wastes no time in kicking straight into its first number, which sees Cathy looking back on a five year relationship in the aftermath of its ending– a heartfelt lament which builds to an almost orchestral swell.
It quickly gives way to a more swinging samba-infused song at the start of the relationship, which is laden with humour and romantic joy, before returning to a more melancholy tone for the third song.
The production moves breathlessly between songs, dispensing with interstitial dialogue almost entirely, jumping deftly between musical styles as it explores the relationship through vignettes more than through protracted, expository sequences.
Martha Kirby is astoundingly assured in her portrayal as Cathy; her pitch-perfect vocals are excellently placed for the tendency towards the character’s more introspective songs, and carry a delicacy which nevertheless spills over into unbridled, soaring emotion where necessary.
However Guy Woolf is an accomplished foil, and performs with just as much vigour and intensity in an arguably more upbeat vocal role.
Together, the pair more than sell a turbulent intertwining full of fraught friction and heady, heartfelt hope.
The live ensemble who perform the production’s music are also to be commended, not only for their commensurate ability, but also for their performances when blending into the narrative of the play.
This blending, while surreal in the first instance, only serves to contribute to the fluid, slightly dreamlike sensibility of the play, creating a smooth transition between assigned roles and fleeting flexibility.
This is also complimented by the sparse, but far from bare, staging: only the most necessary elements are present, but each of them are flashy despite understatement.
Little touches such as lighting and some clever pseudo-mirror work lend themselves to a surreal blending of spaces while remaining stripped back enough to allow the performances of the cast to shine fully.
Overall, Reading Rep’s production of The Last Five Years is a ceaseless exploration of a relationship through its myriad stages which barely stops for a breath– a feat in itself considering the quality of the vocal performances alone.
Where other musicals pause for more extended exposition, The Last Five Years is instead less heavy-handed with plot, allowing the emotional content of its songs to leave some gaps for emotional inference.
This serves to embellish the nuance of the relationship at the heart of the piece rather than pin it down to specifics, without letting the narrative beats become too obscure.
It also benefits from Reading Rep’s relative intimacy as a venue; voices like Kirby and Woolf’s are more typically heard in far larger venues, bringing an engaging immediacy to the production which only makes the production more vibrant and intense through proximity.
Reading Rep has hit a high note with its first musical production.
The Last Five Years is showing at Reading Rep Theatre until Saturday, October 11.
Full details and tickets available via: readingrep.com/whats-on/the-last-five-years
