The Last Man struggles to engage the audience despite a good pop-rock musical score.
The Last Man is a new, one-person musical, currently premiering its English-language production at the Southwark Playhouse Elephant. This review is of Lex Lee playing the role of The Survivor (also played by Nabi Brown at other performances). The Last Man was originally produced in Korea, written by Jishik Kim and Seungyeon Kwon and directed by Daljung Kim. The show follows ‘The Survivor’ self-quarantined in a bunker below the streets of Seoul, while a zombie apocalypse ravages the rest of humanity outside.
Lex Lee delivered a good performance as The Survivor. He brought charm and emotion to the role, and his fantastic rock vocals are the highlight of the show. The songs have a typical catchy pop-rock musical theatre sound which fits the story and character. The sound and lighting design (Liam McDermott and Cheolmin Cho respectively) successfully create an uneasy atmosphere in the room. The set design (Shankho Chaudhuri) is suitably dystopian and looks exactly how you would expect a survival bunker to look. The design is cohesive and is the best element of the worldbuilding in this production.
Unfortunately, the overall direction of the production is lacking in quality. One of the main downfalls is that The Survivor spends the majority of the show talking directly into a mobile phone camera simulating a ‘survival video diary’. This conceit does not work in the room, and leaves the audience questioning why bother with a live audience if the actor refuses to perform towards us. The production would be instantly more engaging if this aspect was re-worked. Additionally, there is a lack of choreography or interesting movement throughout the show. Lex Lee brings as much excitement as he can, but he delivers the whole show sitting down or slowly walking around the stage which is a bafflingly uninspired creative choice.
This show has been translated from Korean into English for this production. However there were some significant worldbuilding, storytelling and characterisation issues that were impossible to ignore. The story hints at many themes and begins plotlines that are never satisfyingly concluded. The translated lyrics and scenes were watchable and there were some light comedic moments that came through. The integration of Korean phrases (e.g. the song “I am Ingan”) provided a breath of fresh air, but the story remains disjointed despite some charming moments.
The Last Man is not only a one-person show, but largely a one character show, and we therefore should feel intimately familiar with this character’s motivations and feelings to be invested in the story. The Survivor’s main characteristic was being a “film buff” and knowing every detail of Hollywood zombie apocalypse and dystopian films. However, this never impacts the story arc in any way beyond the opening exposition of being a survivalist in a bunker.
The relationships between The Survivor and the outside world are never clarified which causes further confusion, not allowing the audience to form a deep connection to the character or world. There are hints of potential ‘messages’ that the show is attempting to portray. However, it is hampered by confusing storytelling and poor direction.
Overall, The Last Man is a musical that lacks coherent direction and doesn’t deliver satisfying payoff on the storylines it attempts to tackle.
This show runs at Southwark Playhouse Elephant until 13th June. Tickets here.