Cathy is an actress. Jamie is a writer. Both of them are at the beginning of their careers when they meet. Five years later after success for both of them they are breaking up. Their individual stories are told from different point of the relationship. Cathy’s story starts at the end of the relationship and tracks back to where it started. Jamie’s story starts at the beginning and follows it through the reasons why it ends.

Both performers, Ellie Neal (Cathy) and Justin Rogers (Jamie), are excellent at conveying emotional depth through their singing as well as physical movements and facial expressions. They give their characters heart which is good since they’re often singing solo with minimal vocal interaction from the other. Neal’s voice is sweet and light which she plays off against the strength she has imbued in her character. Rogers’ is confident in voice and movement paralleling his somewhat self-centred character.
Director Jon Hunter has them move around the elegantly simple set adding visual interest to a musical that could be very static. They are accompanied by Musical Director Mark Dorrell on piano.

Great work from two new performers.

  • The last five years by Jason Robert Brown, directed by Jon Hunter, on at BATS Theatre to Saturday 5 December 2015

N.B. There are two performances on Friday 4 December.