REVIEW: THE LAST MAN @ SOUTHWARK PLAYHOUSE ELEPHANT

🎭 The Last Man

📍  Southwark Playhouse Elephant, 1 Dante Place, London, SE11 4RX

🗓 Wednesday 13th May 2026

⭐️ 2 Stars

BUNKER BLUNDER

What an absolutely manic day it was before I even made it down to Elephant and Castle. My schedule was a relentless, jam-packed conveyor belt of events across London, and to top it all off, the British weather was playing its usual erratic games - swinging violently from sudden downpours to humid bursts of sunshine. By the time I finally slumped into my seat at Southwark Playhouse Elephant, I was running on fumes and desperately craving a piece of theatre to completely sweep me away.

On paper, the premise of THE LAST MAN sounded genuinely intriguing to me. This piece comes with a fascinating history, arriving in London as a highly anticipated UK premiere after cementing itself as a cult hit on the South Korean musical theatre circuit. The plot centres on a lone survivor, barricaded deep inside an underground bunker ("B-103") in Seoul, trying to outlast a brutal zombie apocalypse and a devastating virus. It is a concept that sounded exactly like my kind of thing, bursting with psychological potential and promising a claustrophobic examination of the human mind under extreme duress.

Unfortunately, the production immediately put me on the back foot because the sound levels were frankly all over the place. Our survivor bursts onto the stage in a state of absolute, high-stakes panic, but the muddy sound mix meant I couldn’t decipher a single word he was singing. It is a deeply frustrating roadblock because this is the pivotal opening sequence meant to establish the stakes of the world, and losing the lyricism right at the start makes it incredibly difficult to anchor yourself in the narrative.

Anyone who knows me will know that the absolute most important thing to me in any production is a strong, cohesive central story, and the text here feels remarkably thin. Some of the lyrical phrasing, in particular, lacked nuance and felt a little too on-the-nose, causing my eyes to roll on more than one occasion. By the time we reached the interval - marking 100 days of solitary confinement - there seemed to be almost no psychological or physical toll on our protagonist. Bafflingly, Act 2 felt immensely stronger in its character development and emotional storytelling, as if it had been penned by a completely different writer. It finally began to dig into the meat of the situation, but I was still holding out hope for a sharp, unexpected twist to tie it all together. Regrettably, the final resolution felt predictable and rather lacklustre.

I also wasn't completely sold on Lex Lee's performance, though in fairness, my reservations likely stem from the constraints of the script and direction rather than his capabilities. Vocally, it felt like he was straining against the material at times; while he clearly has power, the delivery lacked the varied textures and vocal control needed to sustain a demanding one-man score.

This detachment was amplified by a massive technical failure. For the majority of the first act, the survivor is meant to broadcast directly into a camera, with live footage beamed onto screens around the auditorium to give us an intimate window into his isolation. Instead, technical glitches meant that for 90% of the show, we were just staring at frozen, glitching images. Without that visual intimacy, a huge disconnect opened up between myself and the character, and my mind began to wander as I fought to keep my attention locked onto the plot.

There are, however, some genuinely brilliant saving graces. The set design is fantastic - a wonderfully gritty, utilitarian bunker that maximises the space - and it is paired with a sharp, atmospheric lighting design. Visually, these are undoubtedly the strongest, most polished elements of the evening. I also appreciated the foundation of Seungyeon Kwon's music, but the execution felt oddly suppressed by the band mix. This score is crying out to be rockier, edgier, and more unapologetic; I wanted far more guitar, more distortion, and real guts in the orchestrations.

Lastly, the sound design for the undead outside was a very bizarre creative choice. Rather than a terrifying, visceral threat, the zombie groans sounded much more reminiscent of a cheesy monster from a 1960s B-movie sci-fi flick.

There is a compelling, energetic cult musical buried in here, but the technical hitches and uneven writing mean this particular survival story doesn't quite manage to conquer the bunker.

If you're interested in making up your own mind about this apocalyptic musical, THE LAST MAN continues performances at Southwark Playhouse Elephant until Saturday 13th June. CLICK HERE to check availability and to book tickets.

Neill Kovacic-Clarke

All views are my own and I pride myself on being honest, fair, and free from influence. Theatre is subjective and it is important to remember that all views expressed are just those of one person.

My ticket for this performance of The Last Man was gifted by CRPR who invited me to watch the show in exchange for my honest review. The fact that my ticket was gifted played no part in the content of my review or the star rating given.

CAST LIST:

Lex Lee as The Survivor

The role of The Survivor is shared by Lex Lee and Nabi Brown

RUNNING TIME (approx):

2 hours, including interval

CONTENT WARNINGS:

Frequent bad language; Themes of isolation and mental illness

AGE GUIDANCE:

14+

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