Nathan Hartono and Inch Chua prove their mettle as musical theatre performers in this heartbreaking look at the deterioration of love.

Time moves in strange ways when you’re looking back on the past. Rather than replaying chronologically, memories often intersect the good times and the bad, the imagined and the painfully real, mixing them all up into a messy soup of time gone by, something that is well-represented in the unusual structure of Jason Robert Brown’s The Last Five Years.

Presented by Singapore Repertory Theatre (SRT) to kickstart their 2025 season, The Last Five Years arrives at the KC Arts Centre this Valentine’s week to take audiences on a journey from conception to bitter end of a relationship, and back again. The two-hander musical follows hotshot new writer Jamie (Nathan Hartono) and struggling actor Cathy (Inch Chua) as they date, marry, and break up, told completely through song. But while Jamie’s story charts the couple’s relationship from meet-cute to breakup, Cathy’s story goes in reverse order instead, beginning with the bitter divorce to when she first leaves Ohio to come to the big city full of hope, alternating between both timelines to present a complete picture of their five year romance.

Under the steady direction of Daniel Jenkins, both actors breathe new life into their characters, each infusing the demanding score with their personal style and energy. Both performers are perhaps better known for their music careers than their theatre work, but this production proves that they are both deeply underrated as stage actors. It’s a notoriously difficult musical to perform—essentially a series of alternating solo numbers, tracing a relationship from opposite ends of the timeline. Yet, both Nathan and Inch masterfully carry us through this emotional journey, from the dizzying hope of new love to the heartbreak of a relationship unraveling, exceeding all expectations as they show off not only vocal prowess, as well as an ability to hold the stage with their presence and personality.

Nathan displays natural charisma when playing Jamie. Right from the outset, Nathan comes across as incredibly confident, a little full of himself, but in a way that exudes a magnetic charm that allows us to understand the power he holds over Cathy, and keeps us on his side, even at his lowest. Nathan’s voice is smooth as butter, nailing every song seemingly effortlessly, imbuing each one with so much emotion and soul, from the innocent joys of “Moving Too Fast”, to the silly flirting and encouragement of “The Schmuel Song” that makes even the repetitive ‘na-na-na-na’ parts cute, to the sheer resistance felt in the lustful, bordering on perverse temptations of “A Miracle Would Happen”. Daniel Jenkins has done especially well to direct Nathan to perform impressive choreography, swinging from the set and climbing the ladders with wild abandon, always full of energy and movement, all the while maintaining impressive vocal clarity and power. His movement across the stage adds a kinetic dynamism that enhances the emotional highs and lows of his songs.

On the other hand, of the two, Inch has the more difficult role, considering how Cathy is introduced at her lowest point, constantly lashing out, before working her way uphill towards the naive joys of five years ago. Inch brings a nuanced vulnerability to Cathy, using her unique vocal tone and grounded presence to craft a character that feels raw and deeply personal complexity of the character, while also quintessentially Inch herself, reminiscent of her recorded tracks when she sings on “Still Hurting” and sweetness in “I Can Do Better Than That”. Even if there are moments where she is challenged in her range, she more than makes up for it with her personality, that slightly awkward girl-next-door vibe that you root for as she chases her dreams, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed. You fully understand and sympathise with her insecurities being the root cause of the relationship’s downfall, and can’t help but want to cry as we end on her happiness, not knowing the pain that awaits her.

Their real-life friendship adds another subtle but powerful layer to their performance. Though Jamie and Cathy almost never speak to each other on stage, you feel the invisible thread connecting them—a tenderness that hovers over their separate stories, making the final moments hit that much harder. What elevates this production is the way it lingers in those quiet moments of yearning and regret—those spaces between what’s said and unsaid—making the audience feel every inch of that ache. Daniel Jenkins finds moments that hint at intersection, allowing the mixing of highs and lows to become even murkier as the memories swirl, and when they finally do interact during the midpoint, during their proposal to each other in “The Next Ten Minutes”, you sense their shared happiness, warmth emanating from both of them as they lock in an embrace, their joy fleeting but real in that brief moment.

The Last Five Years is also a visual feast to behold. Diego Pitarch’s set design provides a striking backdrop—an industrial, metallic structure resembling the underbelly of a bridge in the heart of a modern city, complete with rusting ladders and stairs that reflect the cracks and strain in Jamie and Cathy’s relationship. These also allow Daniel Jenkins to play with levels and layers, as Nathan and Inch ascend and descend, leaping or collapsing onto these structures for added dramatic effect during emotionally resonant moments. The urban feeling is further enhanced by Uthaiyan Kumanan’s sound design, where you hear traffic and the occasional inaudible dialogue, capturing the fervent energy the musical wishes to showcase. Uthaiyan’s sound engineering background is also evident in how there are additional speakers installed, ensuring that the sound resonates within the theatre and both performer’s voices are clearly heard throughout. The onstage piano also becomes part of the choreography, blending seamlessly with the live band’s performance, which supports the singers without overpowering them, with Nathan and Inch even playing it from time to time.

One must also laud praise onto how smooth the transitions between each song are, not just thanks to Daniel’s vision for the show, as both Nathan and Inch subtly feature in each other’s numbers, but also thanks to Leonard Augustine Choo’s costumes, which cleverly signal the passage of time. In selecting the outfits for Jamie and Cathy, Leonard has produced a wardrobe comprising versatile separates that subtly shift across scenes, easy to change in and out of, and feeling like different costumes in each number. Gillian Tan, who has designed for productions on the West End, shows off her wealth of experience and creativity, with lighting design that is equally masterful, using fairy lights, shifting hues, and carefully differentiated spotlights to evoke mood, time of day, and reveal hidden symbolic layers within the relationship, proof that lighting indeed can immensely heighten the quality of a production. In numbers such as “The Schmuel Song”, Gillian’s lighting evokes surprise when the borders reveal hidden lighting installed in them, elevating the atmosphere with this unexpected new dimension when it comes to life, and overall, feels like an unseen narrator overseeing and dramatising both Jamie and Cathy’s story.

With theatrical elements contributing to a production that is as visually rich as it is emotionally resonant, The Last Five Years is a challenging piece executed with style, skill, and heart. This is a production that brings out the best in its creative team, but especially so in stars Nathan and Inch, that makes you wonder why we haven’t seen more of them onstage. Simple in concept but spectacular in output, The Last Five Years will leave you both moved by its sincerity, and impressed by the performance, leaving you wistful about the fickle nature of love this Valentine’s season, whether single or partnered.

Photo Credit: Tuckys Photography / Singapore Repertory Theatre

The Last Five Years plays from 12th February to 1st March 2025 at the KC Arts Centre. Tickets available here

Production Credits:

Writer / Composer Jason Robert Brown Director Daniel Jenkins Cast Inch Chua, Nathan Hartono Music Director Joel Chua Band Hsiao Shan Loh, Beka, David Loke, Meah Tze Chuan, Brandon Wong Set Designer Diego Pitarch Costume Designer Leonard Augustine Choo Lighting Designer Gillian Tan Sound Designer Uthaiyan Kumanan Resident Vocal Coach Natalie Yeap