“,,, two big questions that drive this witty, energetic, and unexpectedly moving show which leaves the audience considering what’s important about life and friendship, and what really is the most classic song of all time.”
Beth Spencer
4 Stars
Melbourne Fringe Festival
Scary Goat’s Theatre
If a comet was on a path to destroy the earth, who would you want to spend your last night with? In a countdown of songs to mark this end of civilization, what should be the number one song?
These are two big questions that drive this witty, energetic, and unexpectedly moving show which leaves the audience considering what’s important about life and friendship, and what really is the most classic song of all time.
In The Last Song we meet Georgina (Liliana Braumberger) and Ollie (Chloe Towan) who made a pact when they were at school that if anything catastrophic was ever to happen, they would spend their last moments together. That event, in the form of a large comet hurtling towards earth, is now imminent, and each has honoured their agreement by meeting at an old hangout near their hometown.
However, it is when they re-unite we discover these two friends haven’t seen each other in years. Not only that, they couldn’t be more different in almost every way possible from personality to maturity, life circumstances, and most definitely in dress sense. They certainly can’t agree on what song should top the charts of the local radio station’s countdown to the comet.
While the uptight Georgina has carefully curated a schedule of activities to tick off before the comet strikes, Ollie is just there to party, drink, and eat snacks reminiscent of their childhood. The result is an hour of dark humour, anger, frustration, reflection, and a very impressive dance number.
While the stark differences between the two may prompt the question of why they both bothered to turn up to share this last moment at all, the resulting tension and conflict makes for many funny moments. In fact, the audience may wonder if Georgina and Ollie will make it to impact time without killing each other first. Yet, in working out what ended their friendship all those years ago, they might also discover why it’s important that they are there together now.
This was a very clever piece brought to life by two engaging performers who demonstrated their impressive triple threat abilities. Liliana Braumberger as the insecure, fastidious Georgina found the right balance between anxiety and determination to create a dry humour with heart. Chloe Towan as the energy-filled, chaotic Ollie gave a very physical and comical portrayal, with surprising moments of deep emotion. Together they complimented each other very well and their dialogue and movement seemed to flow in the way it would between people who had known each other all their lives.
From a technical perspective, the space was used very effectively with great lighting effects to show the passing of time and key moments. The montage of sound at the start of the piece clearly established the scene, culminating with Tom Lehrer’s classic piece “We’ll All Go Together When We Go”. As a big Tom Lehrer fan myself, hearing this piece gave me hope that the humour of The Last Song would be witty, clever, and thought-provoking, and I was not disappointed.
4 out of 5 party hats
photos by 3 Fates Media
Beth Spencer, Theatre Now
