Review: BEFORE AFTER, Southwark Playhouse Borough
Photo credit: Danny Kaan
Two hander musical, Before After, is a love story told before and after a life changing event.
We meet Ami (Grace Mouat) and Ben (Jacob Fowler) in the after on a hillside. She recognises him immediately, he doesn’t remember her. It transpires that Ben lost his memory in a car accident.
We follow the lovers in both the before and after, wondering why she didn’t know about his accident until this chance second meeting, and whether their love story will be different this time. Part of the intrigue is created by Ami pretending this is the first time they’ve met.
The best thing about this production is the chemistry between Ami and Ben. Their instant attraction, before and after, is so obvious that we believe some cosmic force has brought them back together.
Mouat and Fowler are accomplished singers and deliver the melodic score with ease; their harmonies are beautiful. But, the ballad heavy piece lacks memorable songs and would be better with more upbeat tunes like Ben’s solo when he’s anxiously choosing the right T-shirt for Ami’s first visit to his flat. The ups and downs of their relationship are played out well and the funny lines, largely created by digs at each other because of their different backgrounds and personalities, have us laughing out loud. Both leads have excellent comic timing.
Serious stresses on their relationship are mainly delivered through song, which isn’t always necessary. The most powerful scene is a spoken argument explaining the end of their relationship in the before and we’d like to see more of this.
The design makes effective use of the small stage. Ben is a struggling artist and the set is cleverly constructed for him to hang paintings on the backdrop. Switches between the before and after are clear, with the words before or after projected on the backdrop. By Ami wearing a coat, releasing her hair from a pony tail and Ben putting on a jumper in the after scenes, we are never confused about which time line we are in. The lighting is a triumph and despite the limited space, we are transported to the beautiful hillside by the bright yellow lighting and imagine the sun beaming down on them as they look out on the vista.
The 90 minutes races by, leaving us wanting to know if Ami and Ben will get a happy ending, but the show would benefit from a more memorable score.
*** Three stars
Reviewed by: Victoria Willetts
Before After plays at Southwark Playhouse Borough until 2 March, with further information here.