The Last 5 Years: new production from What We Did Next

Musical drama The Last 5 Years is the latest offering from Liverpool theatre group What We Did Next, who will be staging the play at the Kazimier this week to launch their autumn season. Written by award winning composer Jason Robert Brown, the one act musical charts the highs and lows of the failed relationship between writer Jamie Wellerstein and actress Cathy Hyatt. The play is described as “an hilarious yet heart-rending tale, which will strike a chord with anyone who has been in and out of love”. The characters are presented at different moments in their relationship, each instance telling a different part of their five year love affair. The musical offers an unusual structure, and an intricate musical style characteristic of the composer. It is the latest production from city musical theatre company What We Did Next. Fresh from their successful version of Spring Awakening in February, the group is moving to arts venue The Kazimier for this two-man show. Liverpool Theatre School student Natalie Hayes plays Cathy, and Huyton-based Adrian Saunders is Jamie, in his first role with WWDN. Both actors hope to pursue professional careers in the industry. Elen Royles, who has just graduated from medical school and currently works at a hospital in Warrington, is also making a debut as director, and the musical director is, Robert Owen who works with schools across the area teaching music and has great deal of MD experience with WWDN and professionally. The Last 5 Years originally opened in Chicago in 2001, and had a successful run throughout the last ten years where it has been performed Off Broadway and on the West End. It is the first of three shows What We Did Next are staging over the next coming months, and the company says it promises to be an exciting interpretation of a modern classic. The Last 5 Years will be performed at The Kazimier, Wolstenholme Square, from September 14 – 16, and tickets are available from wwdn.co.uk. If it's anywhere as good as their Spring Awakening then it will definitely be worth a look, and is bound to feature some fine up-and-coming talents. Keep an eye on the site for more shows coming up from the company this year, including a December production of Sondheim's In The Woods. Although WWDN specialise in musical theatre, they will be performing straight drama Any Other Name in conjunction with the Royal Shakespeare Company, later this month.