The Last Five Years

The Last Five Years
By Jason Robert Brown. Tall Trees Productions (Vic). Director: Jez Hunghanfoo. Musical Director/Producer: Evan Englezos. Treble Clef Jazz Lounge, June 26 – 29, 2013 and Theatre Works, July 17 – 21.

I am constantly amazed at the amount of music being supported around Melbourne. I am familiar with most of the amateur companies, and the big professional productions have a high profile, but slipping under the radar are a number of small professional companies doing good work in odd locations.

I believe this was Tall Trees Productions’ first venture, and it was a resounding success. Produced in a wine bar in outer Melbourne – as in you can’t see the neighbour’s houses on the quiet country road – the audience was seated around small tables with nibbles, and the small band took up almost as much space as the performers.

I saw Jason Robert Brown when he toured Australia in 2011 and was impressed with the quirky way he saw the world and his deep insight into the human condition. He based The Last Five Years on his first marriage and this two-hander is quite different from anything I’ve seen before. Cathy starts by saying goodbye to Jamie and then moves backwards in time to when they first met five years before. Jamie goes in the opposite direction.

It is a novel idea and worked really well. They meet in the middle for a duet as they agree to marry, and at the end have two interwoven solos contrasting the despair of Jamie and the hope of Cathy.

So it becomes a series of solos, constantly contrasting the happiness of one and the sadness of the other. The set comprised a bedroom with a double bed, which they never shared, and each would disappear behind this while the other was singing to reappear in another costume.

Angela Harding and Luigi Lucente were excellent as the two protagonists. Their voices met every challenge in the music, which wasn’t easy, and the audience, only a metre or so away, were able to see every nuance. I was particularly impressed with Angela’s transition from mature woman to naïve girl.

The six piece band was excellent and the lighting appropriate. The sound was generally good and we managed to catch most of the words.

I look forward to seeing more from the innovative company.

Graham Ford.

Images: John E Photography

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