The Last Five Years

The Last Five Years is the inaugural production of Segue Productions.

The story line follows the ups and downs of Cathy and Jamie’s relationship over five years.  Cathy (Kirstin Stefanoff), is from a small town in Ohio with big hopes and dreams of making a name for herself as an actor.  Jamie (Ben Todd), is a writer who finds almost immediate success with his first novel. The story begins with the breakdown of their marriage and Cathy’s response to this event. Over the next 80 minutes we follow Cathy’s memories of the relationship from the break-up back to the beginning of the relationship while Jamie tells his side of the story from the beginning of their love to the final parting of ways. The two stories collide in their memories of their wedding day, with the song “The Next Ten Minutes”.

As an audience member who hadn’t read the program before the show, I found this structure quite confusing. This said, the lyrics and characterisation made clear the difficulties Cathy and Jamie were dealing with and how the success or failure of their career paths was a major element in the final breakdown of the relationship.

The highlight of the show for me was the musicianship of Ben Stefanoff on piano, Verity Addams on violin, Hamish Netting and Louisa Giacomini on Cello, Dylan Bilske on Guitar and Louis Cann on Bass. This was a tight musical ensemble who never overpowered the singers but created an excellent rendering of the score, giving the relationship a soundtrack that enhanced the characters’ experiences.

Ben Todd and Kirstin Stefanoff demonstrated their musical ability well, created believable characters and were well directed by Ben Stefanoff. Todd and Stefanoff have excellent voices and should be congratulated on their rendering of this difficult score. My question is whether they really needed to be wearing head mics as the theatre space was intimate and I found the amplification at times produced a strident and wearing effect.

Segue Productions wisely stuck to a simple set, which could be moved quickly, had a minimum of props and worked well. I liked being able to see the musicians on the stage.

Overall, an enjoyable show and certainly one that musical aficionados should make the time to see.

Sally Putnam