Award winning musical The Last 5 Years at the Actors Studio

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Tucked away on Seel Street is a real hidden gem. Many people are oblivious to the fact that there is a theatre here. This is The Actors Studio and is one of Liverpool's top fringe theatres. This venue has housed many productions under the watchful eye of artistic director Barrie English and for the next week it is the turn of the two hander musical, The Last 5 Years.

The studio space is perfect for this one act musical. Set in America it is a story about Jamie (Stephen Fletcher) and Cathy (Helen Carter). As suggested in the title the story is about the last five years of their relationship, but this is not written as straight forward as you might think.

Writer Jason Robert Brown has taken the age old story of and love and relationships and has turned it on its head. The musical begins in the present with Cathy's opening number 'Still Hurting' telling us of the break up of her marriage with Jamie. And so Cathy tells her story in reverse chronological order to Jamie who begins his at the very start of their relationship, five years earlier with his song 'See I'm Smiling.' This is how their story is told, meeting only once in the middle, as rightly so, on their wedding day and is the only time in the 90 minute piece we see these two characters meet.

This is a very powerful musical, each song packed with emotion and purpose and Carter and Fletcher take on each song as their own. Carter's character is funny and tender just at the right points. As Cathy is a struggling actress there are a few funny moments where she is singing at various auditions and Carter's comic timing falls into place here. Not only are there lines to remember, but there has to be some sort of ability to learn how to play these to an audience, and make them laugh, and Carter does just that, beautifully. As powerful a character as she is, her voice also reflects this and as intimate as the venue is, there is no problems with voices not being heard over the piano.

Again an equally stunning performance from Fletcher. These two are at the peak of their profession, offering unique performances and through musical theatre, which is the toughest of them all, they both do so effortlessly. His character is full of charm and very emotional, his performance of 'The Next Ten Minutes', being only one threaten to produce a tear or two. Fletcher's ease of being on stage instantly makes his performance more intense and his voice is just as emotional to listen to as his performance is to watch.

There is a bare stage, a few costume changes and token props. The rest is left to the imagination.

Providing us with music, at the piano throughout was Musical Director Nick Phillips, who did an admirable job keeping up the energy needed to support his cast.

The concept and writing of this piece is fantastically strong and it deserves to be shared. Even if you are not a fan of musical theatre, don’t let that put you off. This is good old fashioned storytelling, told by two very capable and talented individuals who clearly love what they do.

9/10

The Last 5 Years is presented by Life In Theatre and runs until the 03rd August at the Actors Studio Seel Street. Contact 0151 709 9034 to book tickets.