Two Strangers (Carry A Cake…) - Kiln / Criterion

[david]

Well, I absolutely loved this one from director Tim Jackson tonight at the Kiln. If  I lived in London, I’d be straight onto booking for a revisit I enjoyed it that much. Running at 2hrs 15 minutes (incl. interval) tonight for the first preview, I have to say that it was in really great shape having only 1 lighting cue miss and quite honestly, you really wouldn’t have known it was the first show. It zipped along really nicely the entire evening pacing wise. No sound mixing issues tonight.

As a 2 hander, Sam and Dujonna were brilliant both in the acting and the singing and backed by a 4 piece band. (Keys x2 guitar and drums. Each actor gets a couple of solo’s and when dueting sound sublime. A nice mixture of ballads, big band style numbers and up tempo numbers. As a score, it was something I would be happy to listen to again.

 Sam plays a really funny / goofy and charming English guy (Dougal) quite honestly has got the comedy tone just right here. Dujonna plays a more reserved character (Robin)who over the course of the show become friends after Dougal comes to NY to meet his Dad at his Dad’s wedding to Robin’s sister. I certainly felt that both Sam and Dujonna had some great on stage chemistry tonight. Also, a nice quick on stage costume change for Sam. He does look very good in a suit. 

Set wise, yes it is on a revolve. It is set quite high up from the front row. I would say that if you aren’t very tall, maybe give the front rows a miss. I was sat in row J tonight from a TT offer and had no issues seeing everything. The on stage set from designer Soutra Gilmour is basically a lot of white suitcases different sizes stacked together. They do light up via neon strips and open up to reveal different bits of set. e.g a bar, seats etc. 

Certainly, this is a real feel good show with a lot of comedy from the cast. You do get a bit of emotional angst in Act 2. 

Overall, I can highly recommend this show. What it lacks in technical wizardry, more than makes up for in heart and warmth. Please do see this one. 

Rating - 4⭐️

[alece10]

Sounds like I need to go. Never been to this theatre before. Anyone who has been before can you tell me if its easy to get to from Kilburn Station?

[anthony40]

Nov 10, 2023 12:52:56 GMT alece10 said:

Sounds like I need to go. Never been to this theatre before. Anyone who has been before can you tell me if its easy to get to from Kilburn Station?

Alec, it's only a 10-15 minute walk from the station.

[showgirl]

True but I don't find it the easiest walk as the pavement is very narrow, busy and cluttered with street furniture and shop displays; also there is no large, clear, visible sign pointing to the theatre so it's hard to locate.

[tmesis]

...nice venue though.

[theatre2023]

Good performances but the lack of any sort of real drama or conflict in the story lets it down entirely. There’s certainly not enough plot here to justify an entire musical sadly.

[Being Alive]

I liked this!

It feels to me like a 90 minute no interval show - I think it struggled a little to pick itself back up after the interval, but largely a really strong score (one number in each half I didn't care for) and two super performances.

Strong 3 stars at the moment - I thought it has bags of potential.

[anthony40]

Booked! Am going on 28th with the Q&A afterwards.

[Mark]

Loved this. Great writing, great performances. Yes it should be 90-100 minutes no interval and there’s a few numbers could be cut with limited loss (the tinder song for example) but overall it’s a great piece of new writing.

[juicy_but_terribly_drab]

Yeah I saw it this afternoon. Echo the thoughts that it should have just been straight through but I enjoyed basically all the songs on some level and the story was cute. Just a really sweet romcom essentially without much depth but very solid.

[jampot]

Really enjoyed this tonight..I was totaly swept up with the story more so than the music..The comedy aspect really worked. Audience reaction was strong at the end and great to see so many smiling people leaving the theatre...

[TheOneOnTheLeft]

I also enjoyed this little heart-warming show immensely and would recommend seeing this to each of my friends. Yes: it could be trimmed to one act without intermission, but personally, I did not mind at all spending a little more time with these two adorable characters and their stories.
Hoping they will release a cast recording as some of the songs are quite catchy!
I sat in the stalls slips seat closest to the stage (AA3, which seemed to be the third seat on the plan, but wasn’t) and this might actually be the perfect place to see this: very close to the action and at a perfect angle.
4 Stars from me (the last star is reserved for - hopefully - future and maybe even slightly more polished incarnations of this little gem).

[zahidf]

This was ace I thought! Funny, really likeable characters, good songs. Feel good musical of the winter.

[capybara]

OK, so I now have an answer to the question “what’s your favourite Christmas musical?”. I mean, I’d go to see this any time of the year but this really is a charming winter musical romcom.

Sam Tutty is wonderful as Dougal and brings a puppy dog excitement that he never really got to lean into as Evan Hansen.

But what a sensation Dujonna Gift is. Vocally as crisp and pure as anyone I’ve heard, she brings so much to this beautiful piece as Robin. Initially hilariously frosty, Gift brings the audience along on her character’s journey.

Jim Barne and Kit Buchan’s book and score is delightful. There are some truly great songs in there and I’d love a cast recording to be able to listen back to them.

And shout out Soutra Gilmour’s (The Crucible and Sunset Boulevard) masterful set, modelled on suitcases that open up to fit each scene to perfection. Gilmour understood this assignment and then some.

Don’t bother with all the overpriced forced fun Christmas shows in London this winter. Jump on the Jubilee line up to Kilburn instead and be part of this excellent show for a fraction of the cost!

Four stars.

[anthony40]

Am here right now

[mattnyc]

Saw the matinee today and just loved it. Such a sweet little show with some really fantastic music in it. I do agree that it begs to be 90-100 minutes straight through but I can forgive that, since the material overall is so strong.

I’m also 95% sure I saw Imelda Staunton walking out afterwards.

[Steve]

I also saw the matinee, and very much enjoyed this.

Some spoilers follow. . .

Sam Tutty's manic pixie dream boy is endearing, and becomes increasingly winning as his character deepens over the course of the show, but it's Dujonna Gift's stone-faced refusal, to even crack a smile over his unforced but bonkers (his father has never wanted to know him at all before this wedding invitation, so why so cheerful lol?) effusiveness, that really makes the chemistry, makes the show.

She is like the broken Jenna, from Waitress, unable to laugh and smile, and that's why this very formula rom-com set-up never grates, and in fact, the more stonefaced she is, the funnier she is.

Personally, if we're doing formula rom-com set-ups, I admit I do miss the zany side characters (like Laura Baldwin and Marisha Wallace in Waitress) that keep you laughing through every beat of the story, but nonetheless, the opposites attract formula here is itself funny, and ultimately quite wistful and moving.

Some of the songs, like the Tinder song, or the Credit Card Spending Spree song, or the I puked in Bed song, are also funny, so this is not Hallmark movie style schmaltz, despite being formulaic.

I felt cheerfully Christmassy, as I did during the straight comedy "She Stoops to Conquer" at the Orange Tree, as well, to the tune of 4 stars.

[anthony40]

Nov 29, 2023 17:11:53 GMT mattnyc said:

I’m also 95% sure I saw Imelda Staunton walking out afterwards.

You probably did.

She lives locally.

I live in North West London, between where she lives and the Kiln.

I have seen her on several occasions; even spoke to her once or twice.

[mattnyc]

Is Dujonna American? Her accent was flawless and she was VERY MUCH a New Yorker in her attitude. She was just perfect and I hope to see her in many many more things.

[theoracle]

I really loved this - after a few dodgy new musicals this year, I found myself really quite swept away by this. The performances are excellent and this piece seems to sit very well in the Kiln. Plenty of witty moments and genuinely laughed our loud on various occassions. It's very sweet and a real winter warmer. Not all the songs are super strong but there's enough heart here to carry it forwards. Highly reccomend!

[anthony40]

I saw this on Tuesday night and I too loved it!

In fact, I’ve been resisting posting anything for fear of echoing what everyone has already said.

Charming, poignant , witty well written and beautifully sung and performed. This is (simply) a breathe of fresh air!
No big dance routines, no jazz hands, no ensemble- sometimes, less is more!

It made me think a bit of The Last Five Years- a two hander but other than the fact that this too is set in New York, that where the similarity ends.

Despite living relatively close by, this was my first time at The Kiln.

I was sitting towards the back so had a perfect view of the whole stage and audience.

The set is comprised of two sets of stacked suitcases that serve as tall buildings, a subway, a mini-bar, a wardrobe and a bed.

This was a full house and the show (deservedly) got a standing ovation at the end.

Both Dujonna Gift and Sam Tutty were terrific, especially Sam Tutty, bringing a child-like innocence and wide-eyed wonderment to his character Dougal.

I had some producer-type guy sitting behind me gushing over the show. He was telling a friend that after Dear Evan Hansen, Sam Tutty took a two-year break. He’d had plenty of offers but nothing tempted him back with the grueling schedule of 8 shows a week and then this came along.

I too am in the camp of wanting a cast recording and the good news is that it’s coming. The bad news is there’s no set date as yet.

I sat through most of the Q&A with the creative team who were explaining the grueling task and length of time it takes to write and create a musical, with some mentoring with Stiles & Drewe and then after try outs, transferring the show to London. So, with that, and trying to get the actors into a recording studio (let’s not forget they both have personal lives), the cast recording is on the agenda, but, at this stage, is a low priority.

As someone has previously stated, do yourself a favour and hop on a train out to Kilburn to catch this little gem!

[mrnutz]

Nov 30, 2023 21:27:22 GMT anthony40 said:

He was telling a friend that after Dear Evan Hansen, Sam Tutty took a two-year break. He’d had plenty of offers but nothing tempted him back with the grueling schedule of 8 shows a week and then this came along.

Wow, how much was he getting paid on DEH?!

[alece10]

The more I hear of this the more I want to see it. I'm going to have to make an effort in Jan to head up to Kilburn.

[Dr Tom]

I thought this was quite charming last night. The first half is very good. The second half was a bit predictable, but performed well (it would be better without the interval). Pleasant music.

Regarding Sam Tutty and work, I'm glad he's financially able to be selective, although I expect the comment may have been slightly misheard. Dear Evan Hansen didn't close until October 2022, so he can only have been between jobs for one year. He remains very talented.

[anthony40]

An image from the show, with the suitcases

www.whatsonstage.com/news/first-look-sam-tutty-and-dujonna-gift-in-new-musical-two-strangers-carry-a-cake-across-new-york_1548231/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=14november2023