We take a look at how critics have been reacting to the musical set midst a zombie invasion.
WhatsOnStage: “The play’s one redeeming feature is Lex Lee, the survivor himself. Likely because the part is so intense, there are two potential leads who will regularly trade out throughout the run. For this performance we have Lee, and he is a powerhouse. It can’t be easy to carry a two-hour one-man musical with no plot; as well as having a fantastic vocal range, Lee does his very best to inject emotional range and moments of levity into the story. Unfortunately even a fantastic performance can’t redeem a piece with no content.”
Time Out: “The Last Man is weird, goofy and confused. But it’s such a quixotic endeavor – it’s a one man zombie apocalypse musical FFS – that I had a good time despite its obvious befuddlement. Whether you want to drop your own money on an endearing folly is another matter.”
London Theatre Reviews: “To end this on a high note, Lee does impress with his sustained notes, and as the only person on stage, does well to hold the attention of the audience. When the script allows him to demonstrate emotion, he goes all in to give his best performance possible.”
Everything Theatre: “This is a production with really great intent that doesn’t quite hit the mark. Without empowering the viewer to suspect that there’s something beneath the surface of what’s being shown – to understand that the real danger is from within before the final revelation gives clarity – it’s a derivative fantasy story that’s overly reminiscent of many gone before.”
All That Dazzles: “My feelings towards this show are complex, and I just wish the feelings in the show followed suit. The best two words I could use to summarise it would be pleasant and inoffensive. There’s nothing to actively dislike, and there’s the backbone of a truly affecting narrative in there if you’re willing to fill in the gaps yourself. All bought together by a winning lead performance and some boppy songs, it’s a show that’s recommendable, just not revolutionary.”
West End Best Friend: “Still, The Last Man ends up being much more human than its zombie premise first suggests. Yes, there’s infection and survival and references to horror films, but underneath all of that it’s really about isolation, routine, memory, and the desperate need to believe there’s someone else out there waiting for you, and after the last few years, that hits harder than it probably would have before.”
Broadway World: “It’s fun to speculate about the nature of the plot. Is The Survivor a failed doomsday prepper who’s pushed over the brink by the effects of loneliness and malnutrition, or is his condition far more complicated? You’re assured to have an interesting conversation afterwards.”
The Stage: “Erratic and intriguing one-man apocalypse musical”
London Theatre 1: “The Last Man is a real play of two halves, with the second act being much darker and more emotional than the first. There are twists and turns, and even what feels like a false ending at one point, before the audience is released, questioning everything they have seen and heard and going back over the story for clues they may have missed, in this intriguing and compelling story.”
The Reviews Hub: “The final moments of the musical pull a rug out from under, leading one to question everything that has gone before. That’s a difficult task for any story to pull off without risking that the audience feels betrayed by being misled. The Last Man’s version of a big twist doesn’t really come off as well as the production hopes, even though the seeds of its climax have been planted throughout the story.”
Theatre & Tonic: “The decision to tell this story as a solo performance is remarkably precise; there may be no theatrical form better suited to expressing loneliness so directly. The use of phone recordings is also effective, suggesting that somewhere deep down, the protagonist still longs for human connection. The Last Man, in its current form, still contains gaps waiting to be filled, but even with its imperfections, the sincerity at its core remains moving. I believe that, in time, audiences will come to understand this survivor even more fully.”
Musical Theatre Review: “I have no doubt there is a great future for this show, though it will inevitably evolve further from here. Beyond ironing out some of the tech and sound aberrations of this press night, the ending could use a little massaging to avoid undercutting the gorgeous ambiguity infusing the rest of the piece. Still, in a few years’ time this brilliant and original piece of musical theatre surely will have as dedicated a UK following as it does in Korea. I for one will be back much sooner: I cannot wait to see Nabi Brown’s take on the central role and spend more time dwelling on the concept of social isolation with a room of like-minded souls.”
A Young(ish) Perspective: “Overall, The Last Man is a musical that lacks coherent direction and doesn’t deliver satisfying payoff on the storylines it attempts to tackle.”
London Pub Theatres Magazine: “The play has plenty to say about the difficulties of self-efficiency and sustainability, as well as the isolation and brutality of modern capitalism. The end of the world does not save you from the demands of landlords and bailiffs. Brown is excellent in the title role. It is a lot to carry the whole piece, but the songs mean there is variation, and with Daljung Kim’s astute direction the play never feels monotonous.”
Fairy Powered Productions: “The survivor’s encyclopaedic knowledge of film – types of zombies from different franchises are compared as they consider what is happening outside, the parallels of the bunker diet with The Martian are joked about – creates laughs and raises questions and the twist ending is signposted throughout. The twist comes after what could have been a gloriously heroic finale in its own right as the survivor decides to leave, but the musical ends on a quieter more intimately human note that has even more emotional impact.”
To book tickets visit: https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/the-last-man/