Theatre South East

St James’ Studio |6th April – 12th April, 2015

Apartment 40C is a new musical written by Ray Rackham and Tom Lees. It premiered late last year at the London Theatre Workshop in Fulham. It had such great reviews that I was sorry to have missed it.

I was thrilled to hear that they had revamped the show further and were going to give it another outing at the St James Studio (MUCH more convenient to get to being only a few minutes walk from Victoria station).

I was even more intrigued after interviewing Nova Skipp last week and was very excited about seeing Apartment 40C. My only worry was that my expectations may have been set too high.

The story not surprisingly is set in a New York Apartment. It follows the story of Kathryn and Edward through their time in the apartment over 30 years. How they met there, grew together then apart and they end up years later full of bitterness and regret.

The two characters are each played by three actors. The young Katie, played by Alex Crossley and Eddie, Alex James Ellison meet in Apartment 40C when there is a mix-up with the letting agency. The couple are also portrayed by Lizzie Wofford and Johnjo Flynn when Kate and Ed reach their 10th anniversary and finally Kathryn and Edward (Nova Skipp and Peter Gerald) who are re-evaluating their lives after spending many years together.

The twist is this very clever musical is that the story doesn’t run in chronological order but all three couples share the stage and tell their stories simultaneously so that the picture of their relationship unfolds slowly. The ingenious part of the writing is that you could also view each of the couple’s stories completely separately and each story would still be relevant and relatable.

The music is very special. The tunes are clever and memorable and I came out wanting more or at least to hear them again. The good news is that I can because they are all on Sound Cloud listen here. I have a feeling that these tunes will be around for a while.

The characters of Kathryn and Edward in all their guises are extremely well written and their interaction between each other is beautifully done. Each of the six actors are excellent and bring the story to life.

The beauty of this production is that you can relate to at least one of the character’s stage of life if not all. The production touches your heart.

Unfortunately Apartment 40 C is only playing at the St. James’s Studio until Saturday and most of the performances are already sold out. Seriously though, I would beg, steal or borrow a ticket if you possibly can. I for one am looking forward to the next reincarnation of the show because I’m sure that it’s journey is not over.