On Friday I went with Angela to the Menier Chocolate Factory Theatre to see the London debut of Jason Robert Brown's off-Broadway musical THE LAST 5 YEARS. I remembered how small the theatre was - seating only 150 - from when O and I saw the sensational production of SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE there in December... but we ain't in December now.... it was quite an ordeal. The sweat was rolling off me from the get-go and being so closely packed in on the bench seats made it ultimately an uncomfortable 80 minutes.

I wish I could say I enjoyed the show as much as rest of the audience seemed to - comprising a few groups of gushing O MY GOD I CAN'T BELIEVE WHAT YOU ARE SAYING drama students who no doubt know this score by heart. Brown is one of the new breed of Broadway writers who owe a debt of allegence to Stephen Sondheim - word-heavy and somewhat plodding - they haven't his skill of marrying his own unique style to a noticeable Broadway tradition. Brown offers his own spin of Sondheim's MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG which tells the story of 3 friends in reverse - you first meet them as jaded, cynical, former-friends then follow the story back to when they are about to leave college full of hope and optimism in the future and their friendship. In THE LAST 5 YEARS we follow the marriage of Jamie, a successful author, and Cathy, a struggling actress, from first date to break-up - Jamie's story is told linear fashion, Cathy's in reverse so the only time they actually appear in the same timeframe is when they marry.

I thought when I heard the premise that it sounded tricksy and sadly the form works against it in the end unlike MERRILY where the ending is touchingly poignant. It's difficult to convey a span of 5 years in such a short running time - and in what appeared to be two costumes each! - and ultimately I didn't find the characters had any real depth. As the songs are mostly soliliqueys due to the nature of the piece, I found myself thinking more often than not "I bet this is used a lot at auditions". Lara Pulver and Damian Humbley give it all they've got so there is no need for them to be over-amplified too. Was it the sweatbox atmosphere or the sound that left me with a nagging headache? MENTAL NOTE: DON'T GO TO THE MENIER CHOCOLATE FACTORY THEATRE IN THE SUMMER.