Edinburgh Fringe 2026
The Last Five Years
SCT Encore
Genre: Musical Theatre
Venue: The Annexe at Paradise in The Vault
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
The Last Five Years is an intimate musical about a five year relationship, told through a unique structure where his story moves forward and hers moves backward, only meeting once in the middle at their wedding. Anna Schneider and Ben Templeton bring chemistry and evocative vocals to Jason Robert Brown’s emotionally powerful and lyrically impacting score. It takes us to all of the places where love, desire and longing touches each of us.
Review
Schneider and Templeton deliver solid theatrical performances throughout The Last Five Years. You’re watching two people commit fully to a piece that is confusing; if you arrive without knowing the plot, you’re in genuinely disorienting territory at first.
The direction of this piece is assured, making confident choices within the constraints of this small space; the stage and props keep everything flowing without clutter. What’s struck me most is the clear blocking; it’s been this production’s saving grace. The stage is intimate enough that poor staging could easily muddy the narrative of the piece, but instead everything lands clearly.
There’s something interesting about watching an audience connect with characters on stage, even when that connection doesn’t quite land in the same way for me. You can feel the room responding to the chemistry between Templeton and Schneider, and they’re rewarded with genuine moments of tenderness and recognition. The actors portray their relationship in the way the material asks of them, and for many people that’s enough to move them deeply.
What’s worth considering is that this production has brought a Broadway sensibility entirely unchanged into a fringe space. The vocal style, the approach; it’s all pitched toward a theatre that requires that level of projection and formality. In a fringe context, where intimacy is often the greatest asset available, there’s an opportunity being missed. A fringe version of this could have leaned into that closeness. You’re watching a production that performs as if it’s in a larger theatre, which occasionally puts distance between you and the emotional centre of the work.
This is particularly noticeable with Templeton, who at times sounds like he’s singing to fill a much larger venue than the one he’s actually in. The lighting design also felt overly programmed, with one too many cues creating occasional rhythmic disruption to the flow. These are straightforward adjustments.
The Last Five Years does what it sets out to do and does it well. It’s a show and cast that commits fully to its material. A visit will move some; it’s a show to be recommended.
