Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York), directed by Tim Jackson, is fun and wonderful in so many ways.
Set designer Soutra Gilmour represents New York as a city of temporality, transition, adventure and immigration by using grey suitcases as the main visual motif. Creatively arranged into two towering mounds, most of them open at different points in the show to reveal cupboards, seats, tables, radios, even a bed.
Given the intimate nature of a two-hander, there are no spectacular set reveals. However, writers Jim Barne and Kit Buchan have crafted a world so special and specific, one never feels a lack in the piece from the absence of this musical theatre convention.
In fact, the writers have fully embraced the creative possibilities that come with writing a two-hander to reject any tropes and reinvent this form of entertainment and storytelling as they see fit.
The show begins not with a rousing overture or medley, but with a collage of news reports, radio announcements, and podcast dialogue from London and New York. What follows is a substantial amount of dialogue between the two characters, Robin and Dougal, before the first song is introduced.
Throughout the musical, the lyrics are gorgeous, clever, witty, and so clearly captures the essence of these two different characters while recognising their shared humanity. There is sublime chemistry between Dujonna Gift and Sam Tutty, which is arguably what makes Two Strangers an exceptional piece of work.
Sam Tutty plays Dougal, a Londoner keen to finally meet his father who left before he was born, in a city that he has only learned about through movies. So genuine and earnest is he that the audience, despite knowing that this is going to be one epic disaster, cannot help but root for him and hope it all works out anyway.
Dujonna Gift plays Robin, a hardened realist who overcompensates for a regretful mistake by catering to her bridezilla sister’s every whim and fancy. Having placed her sister on a pedestal her whole life, she is starting to realise how much of herself she has lost in trying to keep up with life in New York.
It is no exaggeration to say that every song in this musical is terrific. The overall score is vibrant and varied, thus capturing the energy and life of New York City through a broad range of sounds that keep this musical lively, contemporary and interesting, while also offering rich insight into the characters’ psychological worlds.
The actors elevate the musical numbers even further with their fantastic performances. So convincing are they at visualising the cityscape, with immense love poured into this world, that the audience is easily pulled into imagining the same, without ever seeing any literal depictions of New York. This is also aided by Tony Gayle’s sound design to convey the atmosphere of these different settings.
The magic of Two Strangers lies in its sweet combination of simplicity and exceptional artistry. It succinctly captures the wonderment every foreigner carries for the city, its unbeatable status as the most depicted place in media and pop culture, and the brutal reality many New Yorkers face in navigating this crazy city.
Two Strangers (Carrying A Cake Across New York) is refreshing, heartwarming and perhaps the most authentic new musical on the West End right now.
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