TWO STRANGERS
Criterion Theatre to July 14 twostrangersthemusical.com
Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York) is a giddily glorious treat.
Riffing on romcom tropes, Jim Barne and Kit Buchan’s heartfelt new musical only has two characters and two settings: joy and sheer joy.
Wide-eyed Brit sweetheart Dougal (Sam Tutty, heaven) arrives in New York to attend the nuptials of a father he’s never met. Met at the airport by the bride’s jaded sister Robin (Dujonna Gift), he inserts himself into her life, wedding confectionary duties and all.
The first act is a hilarious innocent abroad romp as opposites clash, but Dougal’s puppyish sincerity triumphs. As attraction builds in Act 2, buried hurts and truths surface to find comfort in connection and compassion.
The show is a triumph of simplicity. Two towering piles of luggage convert into hotel beds, a Chinatown restaurant booth and the base of the Statue of Liberty (which both impersonate).
The score is fresh and tuneful, the lyrics witty and wise, and the stars breathe true life into it all. Both cried mid-song and scene on opening night as I wept, laughed and cheered them on. Pure bliss.
MACHINAL
remorseless, Sophie Treadwell’s 1928 play isn’t an easy watch, but I can’t stop thinking about it.
Inspired by the electric chair execution of New York marital murderess Ruth Snyder, the theatrical exaggerations and distortions of German Expressionism plunge us into a frenetic world of a spiralling lost soul.
Street and office sounds jar, repetitive movement and dialogue grates and lighting throws ominous shadows on the hemming-in yellow walls.
Rosie Sheehy electrifies (literally) in a flawless ensemble as the Young Woman drowning in a soul-destroying job and marriage. A spasm of dead-eyed ticks and manic episodes, she finds brief peace in an affair (stunningly rendered by a blackout and tender disembodied voices) that renders her reality unbearable.
Never seeking sympathy, this demands empathy and earned my applause. Extraordinary.