The Last Five Years at the Brisbane Powerhouse is a delight to watch and the complex nature of relationships are laid bare for all to see. The Last Five Years created by Jason Robert Brown has a slightly complex formula, as the story is told from two perspectives at different points in the relationship. The musical starts with the two main characters at opposite ends of their relationship timeline.  From Cathy’s perspective the marriage is just ended and her story follows to when her and Jamie meet and the reverse is the case for Jamie with his story starting with just meeting Cathy. Being familiar with this story I informed my friend with me and luckily so because I’m not sure how easy the show would have been to follow without this knowledge.

I really enjoyed the show and seeing the turmoil of a relationship blossom and bloom at separate points in a live setting triggered a lot of emotion. The simplicity of the stripped back stage allowed the performers to be the sole focus and really engage you in their turmoil and jubilation.  Lizzie Moore plays Catherine Hiatt who has in my opinion a tougher job in beginning the show emotionally distressed and shifting to the jubilation of their first meeting. Lizzie Moore was captivating and really engaged the heart strings making you really feel for her. She clearly had some illness hindering her vocal range which was sad because you could see she was very talented but just was a bit off at this performance.  Kurt Phelan as Jamie Wellerstein while sometimes a bit frantic, was great, his performance was filled with the cockiness and certainty that comes with the role.

The lighting was amazing and played such a key role in framing the production, and the way colour was used to represent the two conflicting stories was brilliant. The music is such a key part for this show and the jazz influenced score is renowned for being intricate. The conductor and pianist Shannon Whitelock was phenomenal and the entire band which was minimal were fantastic.

Overall, The Last Five Years is a good show and Director Zoë Tuffin has done a great job with talented people and excellent music.  What more could you want?

By Jack McDonnell

The Last Five Years

Brisbane Powerhouse

7-14 October