Ordinary Days continues at the Rosemary Branch Theatre, London until 28 February.
Star rating: 4 stars ****
Ordinary Days takes a fresh look at an interesting stage in life: that time in your mid-twenties when you start to have doubts about the idealism that may have got you this far in life, when your first serious relationship might be faltering, when you realise your dream job is just out of reach, when it dawns on you that you’re not going to be a millionaire by the time you’re 30.
It does this by recounting the intertwined tales of two pairs of young New Yorkers. Warren – an idealistic artist’s assistant who cat-sits for his incarcerated boss and spends his day handing out flyers of cheesy aphorisms – meets and befriends the intense graduate student Deb when he returns to her her lost notes on a graduate thesis she’s writing about Virginia Woolf. Jason and Claire, meanwhile, are a waspish couple moving in together for the first time, tackling the challenges of sharing an elevator-sized Manhattan flat. As the title suggests, it’s an ordinary-enough story of boys-meet-girls, but it’s given a refreshing overhaul thanks to the music and lyrics of Adam Gwon, and an enthusiastic and perky set of performances.
A sung-through chamber piece of 20 songs, this latest offering from Atomicus Entertainment at the 50-odd-seater Rosemary Branch pub theatre in north London is a good notch or two above the typical pub theatre production. I thoroughly enjoyed Atomicus’ earlier outing here – the slasher-horror-comedy Riptide – and was once again not disappointed.
Executive producer (and performer) Alexander Parker clearly has a good eye for a show, and Ordinary Days makes a welcome return to London after its 2008 UK premiere at the Finborough and a short run at the Trafalgar Studios in 2011. With an upbeat, positive score and smart lyrics by Gwon, it’s a very likable show and one that deserves to be listened to, and Parker’s group does the material great justice.
Director Natalia Scorer utilises a modest set of cardboard boxes and post-it notes, perhaps hinting at the transience of modern life in the Big Apple. The simple yet effective staging, nicely lit by Will Pimblett, rightly focuses the attention squarely on the personalities. The music is provided from an on-stage piano by MD Patrick Stockbridge, who ably tackles the demanding score and keeps his performers on track despite never being in their eyeline.
Gwon has a sound reminiscent of Sondheim and, perhaps even more so, Jason Robert Brown – a quirky, edgy, jauntiness that’s rich, wordy and complex yet totally accessible. Ordinary Days may not have quite the depth or sophistication of Sondheim’s Company nor the ambition and scope of Brown’s Songs For a New World – two shows that most readily come to mind as a comparison – but it’s clearly from the same stable and, as such, stands proud above much of the new writing doing the rounds today. A comparison is perhaps unfair: with this show, Gwon is finding a strong voice of his own, and the songs – notably ‘Sort-of Fairy Tale’, ‘Big Picture’, ‘Calm’ and ‘Fine’ – are not mere derivatives.
It’s more of a song cycle with the scant storylines intertwining, and as such I’m not sure the plotting is as well-shaped as it could be. But it matters little when it the songs are this fun.
The four performers do a sterling job in bringing the music to life. Parker, doubling as producer and the actor playing Jason, is paired nicely with Katriona Perrett as Claire; okay, they’re quite a bland couple and they have the less interesting material to work with, but they nevertheless give strong performances, particularly Parker vocally. It’s perhaps a push to believe that they’ve amassed so much emotional – and physical – baggage in their short relationship but I guess, when you’re in your twenties, it’s all relative.
Christopher Keating captures the perfect balance of annoying and lovable in his portrayal of the baby-faced eternal optimist Warren and, again, carries off the songs in strong voice. The highlight of the show, though, is the outstanding Katie Brennan as the bodacious Deb – you could feel the audience rise in their seats (in a good way) when she first began to sing, giving a performance demanding to be heard. This is one actress who surely has a great career ahead of her.
At 80 minutes without a break, it’s the perfect fringe offering, and if you can find the time to make the trek to the Rosemary Branch, it will certainly be worth the effort.
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