Who would have thought that in 2020 it would be possible to return to the theatre? An industry that has been crippled by the pandemic is finally beginning to find its feet in a social distancing world, but it’s going to be a slow recovery. The theatres that have managed to open will be doing so at a potential financial loss. Many theatres have taken social distancing literally and are seating patrons apart from each other.

The Southwark Playhouse, however, has gone down a different route. They have decided to sit people as closely together as they can whilst putting Perspex dividers between bubbles. In a theatre that only has three rows in a U shape during normal times, they have had to remove the middle row in order to make sure there is enough distance between the front and back rows. Ironically the last show I saw before the shutdown was this exact same production without social distancing, so my coronavirus theatre journey came around full circle.

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A UNIQUE PRODUCTION OF A MUSICAL THEATRE FAVOURITE

Written by Jason Robert Brown, the show is a song-cycle and features only two actors who portray Cathy and Jamie. The show is about the beginning and eventual breakdown of their relationship over the course of five years. Both protagonists are given the opportunity to tell their side of the story, which move in opposite directions. Jamie’s story is told in chronological order whilst Cathy’s goes backwards. They overlap in the middle for the wedding scene before drifting apart from each other once again. In a way, the narrative structure really emphasises the distance between them.

This production feels like a really fresh take and breathes life back into a theatre fan favourite. Jonathan O’Boyle’s direction has both actors remaining on stage throughout the entire production, only leaving for a quick costume change (i.e. putting on a jacket). The show begins very dramatically, with a scene I can only describe as coming straight out of a horror movie. I doubt this is what O’Boyle was going for, but it honestly comes off as if Jamie is a serial killer and Cathy is his victim. I enjoy the drama of it though.

ACTORS, MUSICIANS… OR BOTH?

The Last Five Years has had numerous revivals since its debut in 2001 but this production felt revitalised. What makes it so unique is that both the actors accompany one another. Throughout the show they play the grand piano which sits as a beautiful centerpiece in the middle of the stage revolve. It is hauntingly beautiful how the show begins with Jamie playing the main theme over Cathy’s shoulders, and ends the opposite way around.

The actors accompany themselves during ‘Summer in Ohio’ and ‘Schmuel Song’ using a ukulele and a guitar. I also need to give a special shout out to the random tubular bell during ‘Nobody Needs to Know’. Cathy takes a hammer to it when Jamie is singing the lines about her destroying the walls they built together. This show has some of the most difficult songs to sing in musical theatre, but it also has some of the hardest songs to play. It is a huge amount of pressure for Oli Higginson and Molly Lynch to do both but they somehow pull it off.

Lynch’s stand out moment comes during ‘Summer in Ohio’ where she sings to a pre-recorded video of Higginson. It looks like a real time ‘Skype’ call and the audience are treated to his reactions as the stage revolves. She really embraces the humour of the song and even gets out the classic jazz hands. Her vocals were truly exceptional during ‘Climbing Uphill’ …she really belted as high as she could. Some of her vocal choices were insanely beautiful.

‘Moving Too Fast’ is the song where Higginson is able to showcase his impeccable range and stamina. ‘Schmuel Song’ also showed us that he has a wide acting range in which he does a Russian accent and an impression of a clock. My friend loudly cackled after he proclaimed ‘I’m the clock’ (shoutout to you Jenny). Lynch and Higginson and exceptionally in sync with each other and both perform with huge amounts of charisma and charm.

A SOCIALLY DISTANCED THEATRE EXPERIENCE

I have nothing but praise for the Southwark Playhouse staff who have done their best to reopen under difficult circumstances and have somehow made it work. They sent out an extensive email explaining how things will happen, what they will be doing and what will be expected from us as the audience. This included things like entering through the side entrance, pre-ordering drinks to be delivered to your seats and wearing masks throughout the performance. The perspex clear dividers between house/support bubbles were a great way around removing seats.

Upon arrival you are asked to wait in a socially distanced queue before and usher takes you to your seat. At the end we were told to remain seated until it was our turn to leave. The Spectator came out with a scathing review of all their coronavirus measures, which I can confirm were all false and over-exaggerated. I don’t understand why they want to tear down a theatre that has made an amazing comeback after the shutdown. It felt really safe to be inside the Southwark Playhouse with staff that cared about enforcing the social distancing measures. It was a beautiful way to return to theatre. My friends Aksa, Amy, Michaela and Jenny really enjoyed waving at each other through our clear dividers.

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SUPPORT LIVE THEATRE AND THE SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE

Big thanks to the staff at the Southwark Playhouse who have a wonderful social distancing system in place. Under difficult circumstances, they have managed to be able to bring theatre back into their venue. The Last Five Years still has a week or two left before it closes. If there are any tickets left, I can’t recommend it enough!

If you can’t make it in person to see the show, they are doing a multi-camera stream of the production at the end of November. Details of this can be found on their website! It would be a great way to support the production, as well as giving yourself an evening of entertainment.

As I also mentioned on my Tony Awards post, these are hard times for everyone. The arts in particular are suffering with very little financial aid. Give these two articles a read on how you can support theatre workers and donate to the Actors Fund and the Theatre Support Fund if you can:

10 Things You Can Do To Help Theatres During the Pandemic

How to Help Arts Workers During an Unprecedented Era of Theatre

Are you going to see any theatre in the coming weeks? Let me know in the comments!