Review: THEN, NOW & NEXT, Southwark Playhouse

Photo credit: Pamela Raith

Then, Now and Next is a new British musical that will break your heart and make you laugh out loud. This beautiful story about love and loss is currently being performed at the Southwark Playhouse, Borough.

We follow protagonist Alex Shaw through twenty years and two relationships; one then with the young adventurous Steven and one now with the older reliable Peter. The timeline switches back and forth as the story unfolds and we learn how love has shaped her life. As Alex attempts to overcome her difficult past, accept herself and her grief, we follow her journey to rebuild her life and explore whether you can ever be more than just “fine”.

The Southwark Playhouse is a perfect venue for this intimate story told by a cast of only five. It is rare to see such a naturalistic musical about ‘ordinary’ people, in particular a middle-aged woman. This is a joy and shame as this story is so relatable and really pulls you in by the heart strings. Julie Atherton directs Peter Hannah (Peter), Joaquin Pedro Valdes (Steven), Tori Allen-Martin (Woman), Justin Brett (Man) and Alice Fearn who commands the stage as Alex.

Fearn is a musical theatre favourite known for her powerful voice but it is a pleasure to see her in a piece which allows her acting abilities to shine equally. She barely leaves the stage and as we switch between the chapters of her life, she delivers a sensitive and nuanced performance. However, the true standout is the exceptional comedic performance of Tori Allen-Martin, in a range of supporting roles. Allen-Martin is a master of accents and in one scene as party-goer Tara, she has the whole audience laughing uncontrollably.

Written by Christopher J Orton and Jon Robyns, Then, Now & Next marks their first collaboration and there will hopefully be more. However, for a musical written by seasoned musical theatre professionals, it is perhaps surprising that the book is even stronger than the songs. The songs are beautifully crafted and performed but not particularly memorable. They are, however, a successful vessel to explore all of the emotions of the story in greater detail, which is hard to achieve purely through speech. ‘Coming to Terms’ is particularly poignant as Fearn showcases her emotional and vocal range, and heart wrenchingly navigates her grief. The songs also bring a lot of the fun. In one of the early scenes, the charming Steven jumps around the stage singing about entering his thirties, an experience which certainly resonated with a lot of the audience. The simple set, sound and costume changes facilitate the slick and frequent time changes. The story is never interrupted and the clinically white set contrasts one of the central themes of wanting more colour in your life, a lovely message that ties the story together.

Championing new theatre is what the Southwark Playhouse does best and in its world premiere, Then, Now & Next certainly deserves to be championed.

Heart-warming, heart-breaking and hilarious, Then, Now & Next will leave you feeling uplifted and excited for the future.

**** Four stars

Reviewed by: Sophie Luck

Then, Now & Next plays at Southwark Playhouse Borough until 29 July, with further information available here.