THIS IS LONDON JUNE EDITION 2025 - Flipbook - Page 12
Photo: Marc Brenner
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HERE WE ARE
National Theatre
When Stephen Sondheim died in
2021, lovers of musical theatre the world
over mourned his passing. Most of us
have a favourite song – Losing My
Mind, Say, or Send in the Clowns. But
he was both superb as a composer and
lyricist, and prolific. Into the Woods,
Sweeney Todd, Sunday in the Park with
George, A Little Night Music – the list
goes on and on.
Now at last, here is a chance to see
Sondheim’s last work, Here We Are –
and at the National Theatre, too. There is
just one small downside to this
opportunity. Great songs need a great
play to carry the audience along from
one number to another; they need
narrative drive. The characters in this
show certainly drive along. Through a
series of muted dance moves, we
understand that this rich, spoilt, selfimportant friendship group drive from
one LA restaurant to another in search of
brunch. The trouble is, they don’t get
anywhere.
Their search is comically
unsuccessful and frames the funniest
songs in the show, including the
Waiter’s Song, a pacy, rhythmic denial of
everything the customers want.
Overall, the servant class gets the
best lines. And the actors get to camp up
these roles with a delicious array of
geriatric stoops and wobbly trays.
Yet in the second act, the show slows
down and locates all characters in a
room (a towering, grandiose, mahogany-
and-antique-books type of a room, but
one room nonetheless.) They cannot
escape, somehow. Their little lies,
hypocrisies, weakness and lack of
humour come to the fore. There is still
no food or water and all the money in
the world cannot help them.
We notice that their clothing is too
tight, with some buttons straining at the
waistline. They are literally full of
themselves. Rory Kinnear is irresistible
as main man Leo Brink, a billionaire
whose wealth may or may not involve
drug smuggling. In spite of these
details, it’s hard to overlook his shining
stage presence as a genuinely nice
bloke.
Kinnear is not called upon to sing,
which is a good thing. Other members of
the cast do their bit and some are
classically trained, which is probably a
prerequisite for Sondheim’s subtle
tonalities. If you are a die-hard romantic
looking for one of those gorgeous
ballads accompanied by swelling piano
that the master excels at, then the
Soldier’s Dream is enchanting. Richard
Fleeshman is the exceptionally goodlooking military man who falls for
Brink’s stroppy, lesbian daughter. Surely
she falls for him just because of those
divine sounds coming from his mouth?
The resolution of this strange satire is
satisfying in a low-key way, even if the
lack of many songs in Act II is
disappointing. This was Sondheim’s last
work, after all. He was taken too soon to
finish it and we miss him terribly.
Sue Webster
AI-INSPIRED MUSIC TO PREMIERE
IN LONDON THIS JUNE
Artificial intelligence and human
emotion take centre stage on Thursday
19 June, as the Lim Fantasy of
Companionship by composer Manu
Martin and songwriters Dr Susan Lim
and Christina Teenz Tan premieres in a
new arrangement at St Giles Cripplegate,
part of the Summer Music in City
Churches festival.
Lim Fantasy of Companionship Suite
is a chamber suite that explores the
future of human-machine relationships.
The piece evokes a world where
synthetic beings may long for love,
connection and purpose, and asks
profound questions about identity and
empathy. This bold and imaginative work
will be premiered in a new arrangement
for string quintet, flute and piano by
acclaimed pianist Mark Bebbington and
a distinguished ensemble from the Royal
Philharmonic Orchestra.
Composer Manu Martin said: ‘This
chamber version of the 'Lim Fantasy of
Companionship Suite' for piano, flute,
and strings offers a more focused lens
on the narrative of human connection
with an AI-enabled entity. In the beautiful
acoustics of St Giles, we explore the
nuances of companionship, from the
hopeful 'Overture' to the poignant 'Ode
to ALAN,' inviting the audience to reflect
on loneliness and the future of
relationships in our technologically
advancing world.’
T H I S I S L O N D O N M A G A Z I N E • T H I S I S L O N D O N O N L I N E • w w w. t i l . c o m • @ t h i s i s l o n d o n m a g
