“What’s a few more minutes to wait…a little longer”
Confession time – I’ve had this album for an unforgivably long time, mainly because I managed to forget about it, despite the fact I was meant to be reviewing it. D’oh, and sorry Mr G. And more fool me, because Before After is just lovely, a tragic but hopeful love story, an unconventional timeline and swooning piano and strings orchestrations throughout, it might as well have been tailor-made for me!
Written by Stuart Matthew Price and Timothy Knapman, Before After follows the love story between Ami and Ben through all its trials, as the meet-cute we’re presented with at the top of Act 1 is actually at the mid-point of their story. She recognises him as the love of her life; he hasn’t a clue who she is due to a car accident that wiped his memory; and though she keeps schtum, she asks him out for a drink to see what might happen.
From there, we see how Ami and Ben’s relationship develops under these circumstances, whilst also witnessing how it developed in the past in flashback (there’s a useful synopsis and timeline in the booklet!) and it is achingly well done. Caroline Sheen and Hadley Fraser feel ideally matched as the pair, sharing a palpable chemistry but also able to convey the full weight of the emotional storytelling as it quickly twists and turns around the clock.
Her ‘Daddy I Met This Boy’, his ‘Before After’, pretty much every song they sing together, this is supremely accomplished writing and feels like a potent symbol of what musical theatre can achieve, especially in the strength and innovation of its storytelling. Please someone mount a production of this in the UK ASAP.
