Little Lark of London

“One note will change my life”

After a concert version of the show earlier this year, Your Lie in April has arrived on the West End. Your Lie In April. The show is a musical based on a manga by Naoshi Arakawa that has made its English language premiere on the West End. The show’s original book, written by Riko Sakaguchi, has been adapted and translated by Rinne B. Groff. The dialogue is joined by the music of Frank Wildhorn and lyrics by Carly Robyn Green and Tracy Miller.

Zheng Xi Yong stars as Kōsei Arima, a high schooler and former pianist who finds himself unable to hear his own playing after the death of his mother (Lucy Park). His friends, the sporty Tsubaki Sawabe (Rachel Clare Chan) and Ryota Watari (Dean John Wilson) find themselves unable to comfort him, struggling to relate to his connection with music. Things begin to change, however, when Kaori Miyazono (Mia Kobayashi), a violinist, arrives, sparking Kōsei’s interest. 

The set, designed by Justin Williams, is a strong reminder of the show’s origins as a concert, as there are very few changes made to the set throughout the show. The central piece to the show, Kōsei’s piano, remains at the centre of the stage on a turntable.  A cherry blossom tree stands in the corner, a reminder of the beautiful month of April that is the setting for most of the action in the show. The set also pays tribute to the musical’s manga origins through animated backgrounds, with video designs by Dan Light, who signals scene changes through cheesy transitions that one would find in an anime like Your Lie in April. The show is a great step forward in representation, with all of the cast having South East Asian heritage, making it the first 100% South East Asian cast in a West End musical. The dramaturg for this production, Yojiro Ichikawa, is also the back translator and cultural consultant, ensuring that the Japanese aspects of the show remain accurate in the English version. 

The most important and powerful aspect of Your Lie in April? Its music. With music arrangements and orchestrations by Jason Howland, Frank Wildhorn has created a world of music in which classical and modern combine, Rachmaninoff with rock’n’roll. The Music Director, Chris Poon, masterfully conducts not only the orchestra hidden above the stage but Zheng Xi Yong playing the piano and the violinist performing alongside him. Zheng Xi Yong is an absolutely incredible pianist and I found my jaw dropping at how gorgeous his playing is, particularly in one solo scene. It is slightly disappointing that Kobayashi does not actually play the violin, instead simply imitating playing one, but her voice is simply spectacular and is a gorgeous instrument in its own right. Even the choreography (Nick Winston, also the Director) is influenced by the world of classical music, with ensemble members dancing with violin bows as they move across the stage, imitating the movements of violinists with no actual violins in sight. 

Unfortunately, there is a feeling of immaturity that hurts the powerful story. There are many moments that have a bit less of an impact with the PG-level of the show, with characters not swearing and instead using words like “heck,” “butt,” “friggin’” and “crud,” leading to a bit of cringing from the audience. Lighting Designer Rory Beaton has some good ideas, particularly when trying to have “stars” appear in the audience, but it makes the show feel more like a pantomime than a bittersweet show. Having an actual child play the younger version of Kōsei (Theo Oh) is quite cute and leads to many “awws” from the audience, but I believe it would have been more impactful to see the current Kōsei confront the flashbacks with his mother, who is played wonderfully by Park. 

While the sound design from Adam Fisher and Rob Bettle is fantastic for the instruments, giving them the space to shine, it is difficult at times to hear the lyrics being sung over the loud music, especially when multiple people are singing. This sometimes leads to performers making themselves louder, nearly shouting over the music, like Ericka Posadas as Emi, one of the pianists fighting for the top spot in the competition. 

Ultimately, Your Lie In April is a fun musical with gorgeous music that will certainly appeal to those who are fans of the manga and television series, but those new to the story may struggle a bit in understanding what is happening. It is a bit stereotypical for a romantic musical, cheesy bits and all, but is still a beautiful piece of work that shows the power of music. 

Your Lie In April runs from 28 June to 21 September at the Harold Pinter Theatre.

Photo Credit: Craig Sugden