Life imitating art- entertaining or boring

Hampstead Theatre

Sarah Ruhl‘s play Stage Kiss went down well in the US, so the UK premiere was much anticipated. In the event, the critics’ reaction was lukewarm. The play includes two plays-within-the-play which involve amusing parodies of rehearsals and the acting world. It also delved into the way emotion from art and real life can get confused, by us as well as the people on stage. Some critics thought this worked (‘profound..entertaining’ Time Out), others didn’t (‘borders on the bland, bloviating, and boring’ BroadwayWorld). The cast were praised: Myanna Buring as She, Patrick Kennedy as He, Rolf Saxon as The Director, Oliver Dimsdale as The Husband. The production is directed by Blanche McIntyre.

[Links to full reviews are included but a number are behind paywalls and therefore may not be accessible]

4 stars ⭑⭑⭑⭑

Nina Culley for Time Out found: ‘The dialogue is zigzagging, joyfully absurd with the right amount of twists. The tension between the hamminess of Act One and the grit of Act Two is a juxtaposition rarely staged this openly – and if it never quite commits to either, Ruhl’s comedy holds it together. In the end, what Stage Kiss leaves you with is something approximately profound, but above all, very entertaining.’

The Times’ Clive Davis called it a ‘light but droll comedy (that) delights in playing games with the audience.’ ‘Ruhl has enormous fun sending up the conventions of a period piece where a maid makes hurried entrances and the leads utter clipped, pseudo-worldly dialogue before breaking into the occasional song.‘ ‘MyAnna Buring and Patrick Kennedy are perfectly poised as the lovers. Rolf Saxon quietly steals scenes as the director, while the multitasking James Phoon wins well-deserved laughter as an inept understudy. Blanche McIntyre’s direction is attentive to every comic detail’. He ended: ‘Just when you think Ruhl is losing focus, you realise that she is still toying with us.’

Helen Hawkins at The Arts Desk spoke of Ruhl ‘niftily juggling meta themes with standard comedy of manners tropes as she probes the line where real life blurs with stage life. She brings a sly but warm, grounded humour to the material that allows the audience to sit back and enjoy the ride.’

’It’s playful but sincerely meditative’ summed up Miriam Sallon for WhatsOnStage.

3 stars ⭑⭑⭑

The Standard’s Nick Curtis noted: ‘There’s an interesting idea here, I think, about how we use actors as proxies to explore how life should be lived. But it gets stomped on by the galumphing comic business, which includes toppling pot-plants, onstage injuries and misfiring props, and the knowing staginess of it all.’

Dave Fargnoli of The Stage found: ‘While Buring and Kennedy nail the humour of their roles, the chemistry between them never quite convinces, always feeling strained. More believable and tender is She’s attachment to her husband, the surprisingly humble finance bro Harrison – given an aura of quiet acceptance by Oliver Dimsdale.’

2 stars ⭑⭑

Lucinda Everett for The Guardian liked the earlier part of the evening but: ‘Stage Kiss also has its sights set on the interplay between art and life – specifically whether onstage romance can conjure real feelings – and here it comes unstuck, thanks to some pointed but unsteady metatheatricality.’

Cindy Marcolina at BroadwayWorld didn’t pull her punches: ‘this is an uncomplicated, easy, unchallenging comedy for the easily pleased that borders on the bland, bloviating, and boring. Not only it’s too melodramatic for what it is, but it also contains so much surplus material that its two-hours-ten-including-an-interval could be streamlined into a 90-minute-straight-through by a dramaturg.’

Critics’ average rating 3.3⭑

Stage Kiss can be seen at Hampstead Theatre until 13 June 2026.  Buy tickets directly from the theatre

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