Review: Ordinary Days, Trafalgar Studios

Written for Time Out

Adam Gwon's piquant musical, revived after a successful run at the Finborough in 2008, can't choose between romanticism and cynicism. A portrait of four frustrated but ardent urbanites, whose lives entwine in New York, Ordinary Days suggests that cities create fantasies that they can't fulfil.

It's so sharp on the pressures of city living, when aspiration is so integral that everyone else seems better off, that it's a shame Gwon ends up conforming to feel-good familiarity with a happier-after-all ending. His set-up deserves more than sentiment and saccharin.

The jaunty pop score brilliantly catches the high blood pressure of uptempo life, with lyrics providing a sprinkling of wit. That tone, however, can become relentless, which needs offsetting with a hint of variety to provide some breathing space. Like the city itself, Ordinary Days can feel crowded and compact.

Nonetheless it's neatly directed by Adam Lenson on Alistair Turner's set of cubist shelves, which conjure the New York skyline with minimal fuss. Alexia Kahdime's pent-up grad student, insistent on long-term success, wins the laughs with miniature explosions and sceptical asides. Julie Atherton's Claire deftly blurs tears and smiles, always finding traces of one in the other as her relationship with Jason (Daniel Boys) frays.

Laments for quality new musicals come thick and fast. Ordinary Days comes close.