Tomorrow Morning Review

cityneighbours.com
July 2006

Tomorrow Morning: West End Show at Local Theatre Scale

Tomorrow Morning stands out in my mind as the most memorable performance the New End has put on in quite some time - which is saying something - simply because it's so ambitious. One can only imagine the difficulties involved. A typical large scale West End production has lavish sets, a huge orchestra, and a cast of one or two dozen people. Tomorrow Morning has only four actors, three musicians, and a small set that serves quadruple duty without actually being altered in any way, yet it manages to achieve the same feel and effect

The story is one you will be familiar with: the beginning and end of a relationship. Tomorrow Morning deals with the same couple over a decade apart - the day before their wedding and the day before their divorce.

This is, of course, a common theme in both theatre and cinema. For example, there is the American film "The Story of Us" which follows a couple from their first meeting to a possible divorce in the span of 2 hours, and the French film "5x2" that starts with the divorce then proceeds in reverse order back to how their relationship began. As a result, it's imperative to find a unique way to present this story to the audience.

Tomorrow Morning takes the exciting approach of having both the beginning and the end happening at the same time, both in dialogue and in song. While both time frames are presented separately and never interact, they do overlap one another - sometimes in synch with one another and sometimes intentionally at cross purposes. It is funny and dramatic in equal measure, befitting the large scale West End musical it aspires to be. It has the present looking longingly at the past, and the past unaware of what the future has in store for them.

The performances are spot on, each having a particular strength. Emma Williams as the young Kat has the most memorable singing voice, while Stephan Ashfield as the young John has the funniest performances (highlighted by his part in The Secret Tango "Where do you hide the porn?") Alistair Robins and Annette McLaughlin as the present-day couple are just as strong, with Alistair giving perhaps the strongest dramatic performance of the night and Annette filling her comedic, dramatic and singing roles with equal force.

The single drawback of this production was the conflict between the musicians and the actors. With the exception of Emma Williams, the music competed with and occasionally overpowered the singing. Not often, but enough to be noticed. One particular song (The Secret Tango) the harmony turned briefly to cacophony. Still, I refuse to let that alter my perception of an otherwise outstanding show, and I suspect that this is something that will be tweaked with and corrected in each performance.

It should be noted that the story here is universal, something everyone experiences in one form or another, at one time or another. However, this being a "modern" age, we know that such situations do not always have happy endings, so rather than waiting for a 1950s happy ending to occur, the audience genuinely does not know whether they will reconcile or not. Do they? You should see for yourself and find out.

The New End has always been a charming little theatre, air conditioned enough to keep the audience comfortable, with a comfy little bar on the first floor you can refresh yourself in during the intermissions. If you haven't visited it before, this is the perfect show for your first time.