The Last Five Years
Jason Robert Brown is a composer/lyricist whose name might not be familiar to the casual theatregoer, and yet currently two of his musicals are being staged in Sydney.
“He has quite a cult following,” explained Belinda Humphries, who is starring in one of those productions, The Last Five Years by The Lane Cove Theatre Company.
As is typical of Brown, this musical is a hybrid of song cycle and abstract narrative, with songs encompassing a broad range of styles and genres. Apart from the technical difficulties of dealing with different time signatures and melodic phrasing, the actors also have to grapple with a spectrum of sentiments and intense situations.
“The emotional journey that these characters go on is incredibly raw and incredibly honest…” Humphries remarked.
The story covers the five-year span of a relationship, from start to finish, featuring only the couple involved. The device twist is that each character is moving in opposite chronological direction. At the start of the play Cathy (Humphries) is at the end of the relationship and moving backwards; Jamie (Brent Dolahenty) is at the beginning and moving forward. They meet in the middle – their wedding – but then continue past each other until they each reach the other end of the relationship.
It’s supposedly based on the demise of Brown’s own marriage, which would explain the visceral nature of the story and songs:
“You can leave either way…you can essentially leave feeling either elated or you can feel devastated that a marriage has ended,” explained Humphries.
She thanks musical director, Keiren Brandt-Sawdy, for helping Dolahenty and herself deal with the vocal challenges. In fact, she acknowledges the high calibre of Brandt-Sawdy, Dolahenty and director Lochie Beh whose combined talents have created a special piece of theatre. (RB)
Aug 12–20, varied performance times. The Performance Space @ St Aidan’s, 1 Christina St, Longueville. $15-$25 ($70 family pass). Tickets & info: www.lanecovetheatrecompany.com
BY RITA BRATOVICH
