ORDINARY DAYS
Upstairs at the Gatehouse
★★★★
“The simple sincerity is heartwarming”
When asked to pick out his favourite exhibit at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art, Warren (played by the suitably kooky but charismatic Aidan Cutler) selects a very ordinary still life. ‘It’s a little bit boring’ counters Dora Gee’s spiky Deb. But, as Warren points out, she is missing the point. We don’t need the bigger picture; the colours of ‘an ordinary day’ (as the song lyrics proclaim) are beautiful. A touch platitudinous, but it is the central message of Adam Gwon’s sung-through musical “Ordinary Days”. On the surface, simplicity is the keynote, but the compositions have an underlying complexity that the talented cast of four deliver with a deceptive ease and panache.
Set in New York, the musical follows four characters – Warren, Deb, Jason and Claire – as they weave in and out of each other’s lives through a series of twenty-one finely constructed songs. Each number is a stand-alone vignette telling its own story, but also an essential brush stroke of the bigger picture on display. It is a neat, introspective device, although a little bit hampered by its pithy predictability. But it is nice to be reminded that everybody is interesting in their own way and even the smallest of actions can have a (often unseen) positive effect.
Warren is a wannabe artist, barely scratching a living distributing leaflets for his employer, a graffiti artist currently in prison. On his rounds he picks up discarded minutiae and memorabilia – a photograph here, a valentine card there – and one day he stumbles on a graduation thesis accidentally dropped by Deb. Discovering a contact email in the notes, Warren gets in touch to suggest meeting at the Met to return them. He senses adventure – she is suspicious of this whacky character. But, yes, they do warm to each other and an unlikely alliance develops. Meanwhile, Jason is moving into his girlfriend’s apartment. Claire feels her space is being invaded. The couple tend to bicker a lot – over wine and taxis mainly – the core of a stand-out number, ‘Fine’, which has a Sondheim-like quality and energy to it. Melisa Camba, as Claire, shrouds her bristly nature in humour, stunning us with her smooth vocals, while James Edge renders his awkward devotion instantly relatable. There is a hidden darkness to their story, revealed later but covertly hinted at in the simple symbolism of a favourite, old sweater that Claire refuses to throw out.
The two couples never meet, but their fates are unwittingly sealed by the others’ actions. The overlap is mirrored by director Karl Steele’s stripped back staging with the two pairs in constant close orbit but never quite colliding. The only set is a series of crates, moved around to convey the apartments, the museum, a taxi ride or a skyscraper’s rooftop terrace. The fine voices of the four performers give clarity to the melodic narrative, sometimes a wordy scattergun onslaught, at others a tender ballad. The gifted Nick Allen, on keys, provides a varied piano accompaniment that does occasionally betray the show’s limitations. Minimalism is taken to the extreme, but the cast use it to maximum effect. A beautifully sung fairy-tale, it ultimately grabs our hearts. Yes, it is sweet and gooey yet delivered in manageable doses that don’t clog the arteries. Some people might prefer more bite, but this isn’t what “Ordinary Days” is about. It is four people looking for themselves. For their own story. It is not remarkable, but it is special in its own way. If that is all you take away from it, it has done its job. But most people, I think, will see more than that. The simple sincerity is heartwarming; sometimes funny, other times moving, and always a joy to watch and listen to. “Ordinary Days” is extraordinary in its own quirky way.
ORDINARY DAYS
Upstairs at the Gatehouse
Reviewed on 23rd April 2025
by Jonathan Evans
Photography by Perro Loco
Previously reviewed at this venue:
ENTERTAINING MURDER | ★★★ | November 2024
THE BOYS FROM SYRACUSE | ★★★ | September 2024
TOM LEHRER IS TEACHING MATH AND DOESN’T WANT TO TALK TO YOU | ★★ | May 2024
IN CLAY | ★★★★★ | March 2024
SONGS FOR A NEW WORLD | ★★★ | February 2024
YOU’RE A GOOD MAN, CHARLIE BROWN | ★★ | December 2023
THIS GIRL – THE CYNTHIA LENNON STORY | ★★ | July 2023
HOW TO BUILD A BETTER TULIP | ★★ | November 2022
FOREVER PLAID | ★★★★ | June 2021
