By Neil Durham

WORTH A LOOK?: ***

WHEN? Friday 25 April, opens 8 May and runs through 28 June 2025 RUNTIME: 150 minutes (with a 20-minute interval)

Sondheim, musical theatre’s Shakespeare, died in 2021 and when news emerged of this final new musical hopes were high that he might have saved his best for last.

• Read on for reasons including how this is a reminder of Sondheim’s clever wordplay that this electric cast give a 5* performance of

The best thing about this London production is its outstanding casting which stars Broadway legends Jesse Tyler Ferguson, a Tony winner arguably best known for TV’s Modern Family, and Jane Krakowski (see main picture above).

Reprising their roles from the original off-Broadway production in 2023 are double Olivier Award winner Tracie Bennett (Follies, National Theatre) and Denis O’Hare who play a series of restaurant and serving staff to a group of 6 main characters.

Based on two Luis Buñuel films – The Exterminating Angel and The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie – we would describe this as a comedy with music rather than a conventional musical as it’s short on the big numbers that Sondheim became renowned for.

Leo and Marianne Brink (Rory Kinnear, Force Majeure, Donmar and Krakowski) play a married businessman and his ethereal wife who are visited by 4 friends and decide to seek brunch as 1 of their number appears to collude with an anarchist leader conspiring to overthrow capitalism.

There’s such strength in depth to this cast. Martha Plimpton (As You Like It, @SohoPlace) is as funny as you’d expect Tyler Ferguson and Krakowski to be, and are, as the former’s wife Claudia.

Chumisa Dornford-May was nominated for an Olivier for Best Actress in a Musical and despite being a relative newcomer holds her own as a non-binary youngster and sings beautifully in a cast where her sister played by Krakowski is as magnetic and beguiling as you might expect her to be.

We’d advise visitors to get to the venue early because we bumped into Tyler Ferguson in baseball cap browsing through the programmes in the National’s bookshop 90 minutes before curtain up and when the auditorium does open 2 of the show’s stars are preparing for their guests and establishing the mood (see below) as the crowd takes their seats.

We listened to the music from this show months in advance of this visit and don’t think it’s 1 of Sondheim’s best.

It’s also a show we think is designed to challenge rather than to entertain its audience which is why we’ll be rewatching Sondheim’s Old Friends if we want to remember the genius that is Sondheim at his musical theatre best.

Here We Are however is a reminder of his clever wordplay that this electric cast give a 5* performance of.

• Main pictures via Facebook by Marc Brenner courtesy National Theatre Tickets
• Have you seen a Sondheim show before and what did you think of this 1? Let us know what you thought in the comments below
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