We’ve seen books transfer to musicals, we’ve seen films transfer to musicals, we’ve seen television shows transferred to musicals. But have you ever seen an anime transfer to a musical? A few years ago, we would never have expected this, but following the Studio Ghibli films My Neighbour Totoro and Spirited Away be such a hit, it seems there are more animes that are beginning their journey to the velveteen auditoria.
Your Lie in April follows Kōsei, a budding and talented young pianist who has given his talent up following the death of his overbearing mother. However, when a young violinist Kaori joins the school, the two quickly pluck up a friendship, and Kōsei finds himself back in the music competitions, but this time as a duet with the unpredictable musician. But as he battles the past and his own demons, and Kaori fights the medical issues plaguing her life, whether the two will be able to take their final bows together is at serious risk.
Like many of the new musicals I go to see, I went into this completely unaware of the subject matter or what to expect from this musical, and it wasn’t until I came out of the theatre that I knew there was an anime and manga about this story that the show has been based on. And I can confidently say that I am already looking to find this anime because what I saw in the Harold Pinter theatre was simply a marvellous piece of musical theatre. I was captivated from the very first note to the final curtain call by the sheer beauty of the story and what has been crafted on stage.
The story at play here is no less than beautiful. I loved the extensive characterisation of every main cast member on the stage to the point where you’re exploring them not only through their words, but their mannerisms and for some of them, the notes they play. The plot was exciting, always kept me guessing and the ending was something out of an Agatha Christie book. I spent nearly the entire run trying to figure out one key question I had from the outset and seeing that pay off in the closing few moments with such a satisfying ending wrapped up what I can only describe as a fantastic show was a great feeling, and one I haven’t had with a story in a long time.
I did have a dark sinking feeling as I checked my phone in the interval…because a cast recording of Your Lie in April currently doesn’t exist and when I say I was genuinely sad I mean it. To complement such a well-written story was a beautiful soundtrack with so many individual songs that had me tearing up even before we reached the midpoint. I’m famously bad for only liking particular songs from musicals but there were so many in here I need to hear again, this is my official request to the producers of Your Lie in April for a cast recording as soon as humanly possible because I need this music in my playlists.
To move on to the technical aspects of this show, the sound design was a stand-out element. Sound plays such a crucial role in this show, both within the story and to the audience and the time and care that has clearly gone into this fundamental aspect has paid off with interest on top. You can’t help but be fully immersed and captivated by the sounds, whether these come from the instruments on stage, below stage or even just dialogue and this, in my opinion, plays a crucial role in the enjoyment of this show.
Next, to the set. I enjoyed the beauty of this set construction, even to the small details of adding cherry blossom to the proscenium. The set, despite being very largely static, is used well and in versatile ways by all characters, using different elevations and positions to effectively communicate a range of factors to the audience without needing a single word. Every part of the stage was constructed and used well and I enjoyed the focus being on the large piano in the centre of the stage, positioned effectively on the turntable to give a new dynamic right in the middle of the playing space. It was clearly an inconvenience at points, and cast members occasionally had to shuffle around it to get past but this was minimal. It would have been more beneficial to have the piano positioned slightly further forwards, but sadly the position of the installed turntable made this impossible.
The lighting design was very imaginative, especially given how it was chosen to be used in places where no special lighting states were required, but I am glad that this level of imagination was used. Whether it’s highlighting a character in the background or projecting stars throughout the entire auditorium, you didn’t feel as if you were the audience, more as if you were there in person, facing these people as people, rather than characters. I also enjoyed the use of projection of the show’s title both in English and Japanese onto a screen in front of the stage before the show and in the auditorium, reminding us both of the show’s origin and setting, whilst also paying tribute to the people who first realised this idea in animated form.
And finally, to the costumes. This was the weakest of all of the technical areas of the show, but simply due to the high standard of all others. The costumes are done well, I enjoy how much they are able to communicate each character’s uniqueness despite in many cases being so similar among the characters, particularly during the school scenes. The other costumes, such as those of Kōsei’s mother and Kaori are a little more muted and I would have liked to see something more done with these, but especially in the case of Kōsei’s mother, I thematically understand why this wasn’t taken. I definitely think more could have been done in this area, but the standard achieved here is already pretty high.
And now onto our cast. Firstly, I want to highlight the predominantly Japanese cast of this show, a community that are so often underrepresented in the West End and in theatre more generally, and to see so many cast in this show is fantastic. A piece of Japanese culture such as Your Lie in April needs to be told authentically and I’m very glad to see this has been prioritised to ensure the story is told as well as it can be. As for specific cast members, Mia Kobayashi playing Kaori was my clear highlight performance of the show. Her emotion in the role is simply unrivalled, her voice spectacular and all round giving what I must describe as one of my favourite performances I have ever seen in theatre. I simply fell in love with her character and was hooked on every story beat, which made watching this so difficult in the absolute best ways possible. What a performance, I can recommend you see this show even just for Kobayashi.
Also worth highlighting is Rachel Clare Chan as Tsubaki, the best friend of Kōsei who gives such a funny performance, despite not being in too many substantial scenes. It’s her connection with Kōsei that really sells her character – the classic best friend but turned up to eleven is so fun to watch and makes you think about your own best friends in those moments. She had an electric chemistry with almost every character on stage and her friendliness was unrivalled.
In case you hadn’t yet figured this out, I enjoyed this show so much and I have so much more I could say about it. Besides a few minor things, I would go as far as saying this show is flawless. I genuinely think everyone watching this would leave incredibly satisfied, very moved and ready to return as soon as possible. When a cast album has been released and a few small elements tweaked, it will be simply unmatched. I wouldn’t be surprised if this makes waves at the Olivier Awards next year, and I would endorse it entirely.
Rating: ★★★★★
Your Lie in April is playing at the Harold Pinter Theatre until August 11th
