Fantastic performance portraying the ups and downs of a romantic relationship

The musical ‘The Last Five Years’, performed at the New Wolsey Theatre, is a fantastic performance with two actors portraying the ups and downs of a romantic relationship. The actors, Katie Birtill and Chris Cowley, portrayed the characters, Cathy and Jamie, with great realism and emotion. It was an excellent representation of Jason Robert Brown’s classic.

According to Grace’s dad, there were some mixed reviews coming out of the theatre about the musical. Honestly, I do not know where these came from. The only reason we could come up with for anyone to dislike it was its abstract style. However, we found this style to be refreshingly different to the usual naturalistic style of theatre. We could always tell where and when the characters were, due to their use of costume and props.

There was a live band performing all the music, which I found wonderful, as I much prefer listening to actual instruments rather than the synthesised sounds used in today’s music. There was a wide variety of genres of music, ranging from the sad to the joyful. I found myself nodding my head in time with it, or as Grace put it, “jammin'”.

The show did have some bad language, so perhaps it may not be so suitable for the younger audience, however it is a great show for anyone who is into romantic comedies. I’d highly recommend seeing it for a fun night out with your partner or friends.

Review by Grace Dersley and Emma Daniels, students at Ipswich Academy