The Last 5 Years
****
Wales Millennium Centre, Cardiff, Mon 12 Nov
Off-Broadway hit The Last 5 Years has seen many incarnations since its debut in 2001, but this is the first time it has been performed bilingually, in British Sign Language and English.
This through-sung chamber piece tells the story of a couple; Cathy, a struggling actor, and Jamie, a writer whose literary career takes off during the course of their relationship. Their timeline develops in non-linear fashion: we first meet Cathy at the relationship’s sad coda and Jamie when they have just met. Right from the start, we know how it will end, and what follows is an episodic study of the rise and fall – and fall and rise – of a New York love story.
Each of the two protagonists is jointly portrayed by two actors – one singing, the other dancing and signing – and BSL and Sign-Supported English act as vital tools in bringing the characters to life. Jamie and Cathy’s D/deaf alter egos are not simply interpreters, they are co-presenters, often acting as proxies for the characters’ inner world. This interplay produces some witty moments: Jamie’s signing counterpart gesticulates at his ring finger when, recently married, he is tempted by a slew of other women at a party; Cathy’s second self implores her to ‘concentrate!’ when she loses her cool.
The cast are exceptional. Lauren Hood and Michael Hamway deliver vocal performances worthy of the West End, while Anthony Snowden is a charismatic, physical performer. Raffie Julien is a captivating presence whose elegant dancing adds real poignancy to the portrayal of Cathy.
That said, the dazzling performances from the four leads cannot hide that the source material is somewhat slight. Jason Robert Brown’s work aspires to be a sophisticated treatise on modern love, but often misses the mark. One of its greatest strengths – the unusual structure – is also its Achilles heel. The simultaneous narrative, told from opposite ends of the relationship, is a clever conceit, but ultimately means we miss out on witnessing the chemistry that brought the couple together in the first place (Cathy and Jamie only meet on stage briefly in the central section, their wedding). Without laying this groundwork, it is difficult to feel invested in the fate of their marriage.
The cast do a fine job, however, of transforming this show into much more than the sum of its parts, as do the band with their fizzy rendering of the score. The set is also thoughtfully designed, evoking the charming but chaotic living quarters of city-dwelling creatives.
Director Angharad Lee and choreographer Mark Smith have successfully created an inclusive show that is never tokenistic. Indeed, the use of BSL and SSE does not merely accompany the narrative – it amplifies it. In this production, signing and singing are not just a letter apart, they are one and the same.
words Alice Hughes
photos Kirsten McTernan
The Last Five Years is at the Wales Millennium Centre until Sat 17 Nov. It then tours Wales: Aberystwyth Arts Centre (Tue 20 Nov); Galeri, Caernarfon (Thu 22 Nov); Blackwood Miner’s Institute (Tue 27 Nov); Ffwrnes, Llanelli (Thu 29 Nov) and Theatre Soar, Merthyr Tydfil (Fri 30 Nov). More details here