Your Lie In April at The Harold Pinter Theatre

Your Lie In April is a musical based on a highly successful manga which had seen an anime TV series and a live action film before this musical adaptation. It tells of Kosei Arima, a talented young pianist who stopped playing following his mothers death, realising he can no longer hear the music when he plays. He however meets free spirited violinist Kaori Miyazono who makes it her mission to get Kosei playing again and as he does a romance begins to blossom, however fate intervenes and has other ideas.

The book is beautifully written, friendships and relationships have a chance to develop and you really feel as if you have a chance to get into the mind of Kosei and his struggles. Whilst the show is a heart breaking one it is a show that doesn’t wallow in pity and its moments of grief are wonderfully juxtaposed with moments of joy, which makes it even more effective and making the audience really feel something throughout the show. There are the odd moments of cliché and their friends Tsubaki and Ryota have an uphill struggle to display any depth to their character but their central story of Kosei and Kaori reel me in so much I find this easy to forgive. The English translation was also unafraid to embrace Japanese culture throughout the show which really helped establish a sense of place.

The music by Frank Wildhorn fits the feel of the show well, his numbers merging with the classical pieces played on stage by the young musicians. The show however is remarkably ballad heavy and it would have been enhanced if there was more variation within it, some more upbeat numbers as after a while a few of the numbers began to merge into another.

The cast were universally talented and it was a joy to see so many performers from an under represented demographic in the West End take the stage together. Zheng Xi Young plays the role of Kosei Arima and not only does he take the audience on an emotional journey with him but his ability to play the complex piano pieces live really showed just how perfect for the role he is. Mia Kobayashi took on the role of Kaori Miyazono a role where it is vital that she is able to win the audience over as easily as her character charms the audiences at her music concert. Kobayashi succeeded in this brief with abundance and lit up the stage whenever she appeared. Her vocals shone throughout the show, dealing with light moments just as capably as she does with huge moments of anguish.

Kaori is required to be a gifted violinist and whilst Kobayashi didn’t play the violin during the production there was a beautiful directorial decision by Nick Winston to stage these moments with her simply holding a bow and bring to the centre violinist Akiko Ishikawa to play the music itself.

The set was multi layered and framed with beautiful cherry blossom trees, all centred around a piano. The stage at times did feel slightly cramped, especially around the focal point of the piano and it would have worked just as well with a few less levels intruding into the centre area. The set was complimented by video projection however at times this got lost due to the set in front of it.

Your Lie In April is a beautifully told tale which intertwines storytelling and music, demonstrating that if done successfully together they have the power to move you from tears of joy to sadness in the blink of an eye.

Your Lie In April is currently running until 21st September at the Harold Pinter Theatre and you can purchase tickets here.

If you like this review you might also like my review of Death Note, Bonnie & Clyde filmed Live and Next To Normal.

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