The Last Five Years
Produced by Echelon Productions

Cast: Amanda Levy, Anthony Harkin (Sydney), Tim Wright (Melbourne)

Music & Lyrics: Jason Robert Brown
Book: Jason Robert Brown
Director: Dean Bryant

Publicist: N/a

Australian Premiere: Forty Five Downstairs, Melbourne. April 23, 2003.


The Lowdown:
After much waiting, The Last Five Years was produced in Australia by little known production company Echelon Productions. After a season in Melbourne, the show played at the SBW Stables Theatre in Sydney to outstanding success. The show featured Amanda Levy and Anthony Harkin in Sydney, while Tim Wright had Harkin's role in Melbourne.

The show was widely followed by theatre-goers and sell-out audiences, particularly for its Sydney run, were not rare. The cast also made special guest appearances on "The Muf-Tee Show", a popular late night cabaret concept, being produced at the Stables at the same time.


AussieTheatre.com Review:
Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years breathes fresh air and contemporary vision into the Australian musical theatre scene. Brown, who is fast becoming known as the ‘new’ Sondheim has created a highly charged, intimate and compelling piece of theatre, in which the relevance of divorce in today’s society is fused with the genre of the musical.

Using an intimate space and with only two cast members, The Last Five Years does not have the glitz and large scale of a regular musical. Not that it needs it, because this challenging piece of theatre grips a hold of your heartstrings and takes you on a journey heightened by songs that are hard to forget.

The Last Five Years is produced by Echelon Productions, a company co-founded by Amanda Levy who plays Kathy in the show. The company is dedicated to unearthing more opportunities for independent theatre in Australia.

Amanda Levy (Kathy) and Tim Wright (Jamie) boldly create for their audience an insight into the happiness and torment that relationships and especially marriage can cause. The Last Five Years tells the tale of Jamie, a young writer whose career takes off. He tells his side of the story, which begins with their first meeting and ends with his sad goodbye as they divorce. Levy starts Kathy’s journey in the present, at the end of their marriage and finishes singing her innocent yet exhilarated song Goodbye Until Tommorrow that concludes their first date. The characters juxtapose the uncomplicated beginning of a new relationship with the wise reminiscence, which comes after it is over.

The majority of the character’s songs are sung to each other, however the actors are very rarely allowed to work together in the space and have only one duet. Levy and Wright are both able to capture the other character for their audience with their fluid use of a few simple props. This is particularly evident when Wright directs If I didn’t believe in you to a swivel chair, where Kathy is supposedly sitting. Jamie justifies himself to Kathy saying "I will not fail because you want to be comfortable Kathy" and "If I did not believe in you I wouldn’t have loved you at all." Levy also achieves a heart wrenching connection with the audience in several of her songs. We see up close the beauty of her imploring and frustrated sentiments, which emphasise the physical intimacy of the space. Both actors creatively change scenes with a fluidity that highlights the sheer brilliance of designer, Jonathan Beck’s talent in creating a simple yet multi-functional set.

This musical is highly recommended, because its content appeals to so many. Everyone has been through some sort of relationship problem or drama and many of them are captured in this challenging piece of theatre.


Production Shots:
None Available


Further Information:
Echelon's website is www.echelon.net.au.