Next Thing You Know – Garden Theatre

Bessy Ewa and Amelia Atherton in Next Thing You Know at the Garden Theatre, London. Picture: NatLPh

Next Thing You Know continues at the Garden Theatre, London until 31 October 2020.

Star rating: three stars ★ ★ ★ ✩ ✩

More than ever, we need escapism. We need the theatre that has managed to survive this international shutdown to transport us, to whisk us away into fantasy. After waiting half an hour in Vauxhall’s Covid-safe and excellently staffed Eagle pub, we are ushered into The Garden Theatre to find the set of… a pub. Helps with the budget, I suppose.

Still, when those opening bars of piano chime out, suddenly this is proper musical theatre. Actual, performed-live, well-written songs sung by fantastically talented performers – all of whom just so happen to be 2020 graduates. It is wonderful to see such assured and capable new actors being given this rare opportunity to shine during an unprecedentedly challenging year.

Next Thing You Know – written by Joshua Salzman (music) and Ryan Cunningham (lyrics) – is billed as “Rent for this generation”, but it has more in common with 20th century sitcoms. The show opens with a bouncy number about day-to-life in the local bar – a la Cheers – then apparently draws subsequent plot inspiration from Friends and other such TV shows that mine friendship, romance and quarter-life crises for laughs.

The biggest issue with Next Thing You Know is that its two male characters exist somewhere on the scale between off-putting and repugnant, depending on your tolerance for casual chauvinism. No “Rent for this generation” would normalise and excuse misogyny. (Incidentally, neither would its young protagonist’s major dilemma be having too many career opportunities.) Of course, all the characters are shown to evolve over the course of the show – but becoming incrementally less awful is not in itself satisfyingly redemptive.

Fortunately, these flaws feel more like the writers’ carelessness than a considered manifesto. Next Thing You Know is not a serious treatise on modern sexual politics and the lives of the young – another way in which it diverges from Rent. Instead, it is a vehicle for some fine comedy and a well-crafted, entertaining score.

The protagonist – aspiring actor/lawyer/bartender Waverly – makes questionable decisions, but Bessy Ewa is steadfastly charming in her portrayal. It is her affable energy that makes the show work and one can almost hear the audience mentally casting her in the West End’s biggest, temporarily-closed productions. Any would be lucky to have her.

Waverly’s boyfriend is Darren, an inattentive and self-interested aspiring playwright. Nathan Shaw plays his role with the requisite level of unappealing narcissism, but to his credit does find some humanity in the character’s more regretful moments. He is also a fine comedian and even braves the cool October air in his underpants for a gag later in the show. Respect.

Waverly’s co-worker and best friend Lisa might verge on being a collection of lazy lesbian stereotypes, but Amelia Atherton is an impressively commanding stage presence who adds a touch of endearing sass to keep the audience onside. She is also probably the strongest singer in the production, belting over the traffic noise with remarkable tone and control.

Luke is Darren’s co-worker, a serial harasser and user of women, and – fortunately – fictional. That he is recognisable is depressing. Callum Henderson wisely leans into the cartoonish side of his character’s womanising and finds some humour in the empty ethical vacuum of his life. The book’s predictable attempts at pathos aren’t wholly convincing, but Luke’s solos ‘Morning After Omelette’ and ‘And I Breathe’ are two of the show’s best songs – at least in terms of music and construction. Henderson’s performances of these numbers are exceptional and highlights of the evening.

Director Robert McWhir has done a fine job with the raw material, but given the countless musical theatre shows in existence, Next Thing You Know is a curious choice for a revival. There is just about enough plot to sustain this production’s 90 minutes (plus a brief interval pause), but the narrative is undermined by its characters. Quarter-life crises, love triangles and heartbreak are pretty universal experiences, but none quite ring true here, despite the cast’s natural likeability and aptitude for the stage.

What saves the evening are some undeniably great jokes, a catchy and well-crafted score (excellently arranged and performed by the dependably brilliant Aaron Clingham with guitarist Ashley Blasse), and the joy of experiencing live musical theatre performed by such an exciting new cast. For all the nit-picking above, it is still a far more enjoyable night out than another evening in front of the TV at home and absolutely worth the cost of admission.

Ian Bowkett