You don’t often get the chance to experience musical theatre from South Korea. For novelty, Jishik Kim’s book and lyrics and Seungyeon Kwon’s music rank highly. The originality is rewarding and, although there are flaws, The Last Man is interesting.
The subject matter – the aftermath of a zombie apocalypse – is bold for a musical. Treating it in even a relatively fresh way is impressive, although the book is a little flabby when it comes to the mechanics of survival. Horror clichés are used cleverly (the lighting design by Cheolmin Cho helps) and director Daljung Kim keeps things tense. The story becomes convincingly dark and a final twist is effective, if not entirely unexpected.
The Last Man is a one-person show (well, there’s a teddy bear, too), which is another brave move. Two performers, Nabi Brown and Lex Lee, alternate, and I had the pleasure of seeing the latter. The character of ‘The Survivor’ is well written – making them a movie buff is a great idea and their development is satisfying, particularly in the portrayal of their health, which is powerful and opens up a lot of questions. Nonetheless, while Lee’s vocal range is strong and his acting excellent, one voice does verge on the monotonous. The effort to compensate (that teddy bear again) is sweet but ineffective.
Unfortunately, the show is not helped by the music. There’s nothing offensive – there’s a strong stab at a memorable number – and the lyrics aren’t the worst I’ve heard, but the songs never quite make sense (the character’s mental state might explain this), and there aren’t enough of them. I was in danger of forgetting this was a musical.
It’s the moments explaining Korean words that truly excite. Using musical theatre to convey big concepts such as Cheong or Ingan (I loved the touch of etymology) is stirring, but it’s a big shame that there aren’t enough of them. There’s a lot of talent and good ideas behind The Last Man, but there’s a lack of focus on what might make the show stand out more.
Until 13 June 2026
Photo by Rich Lakos