Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) – Review Round-up [Updated]

"A bittersweet fairytale in New York hits the spot" (Kiln Theatre)

"Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) is a British musical by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan that comes to us like a surprise gift – it’s fresh, funny, ironic, inventive and moving, adjectives that wilt in the face of a pick-me-up of a show, what we need in hard times."

"What should be added here is that this musical never subsides into fairytale; its charm is in an intelligently calculated magic that does not lose sight of real life in all its bittersweetness and struggle."

"Throughout, the lyrics are novel, including a diverting song that sets the rhythm of swiping on Tinder to music. Tim Jackson’s production – no conventional romcom – is flawless. This show rings – and sings – true."

(Criterion Theatre)

"Not every hit musical has to be about something seismic or historic, like winning the Second World War, or the Founding Fathers, or the six wives of Henry VIII. Some can be heartfelt, intimate, messy and utterly endearing – as proven by Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York). "

"... when I say comedic, Barne and Buchan’s book is up there with the funniest in the West End right now – both Tutty and Gift have the audiences in the palms of their hands with every wisecrack, wordplay and whimsy. Tutty revels in Dougal’s oddball energy (worlds away from his star-making turn in Dear Evan Hansen), while Gift peels away the layers of the curmudgeonly Robin with masterly precision. The pair can sing, obviously, but here they succeed first and foremost as comedic performers – embellishing their two characters with enough nuance and charisma to carry an audience’s attention through two acts."

"Sam Tutty and Dujonna Gift charm all over again as this delightful musical romcom send up transfers to the West End" (Criterion Theatre)

"This fresh new musical romcom is a treat - not too sickly, but perfectly sweet. The tone is exactly what you’d expect from the title: offbeat, a little bit indie, knowing its quirks. And so’s the premise. Literally."

"I thought it might have some problems scaling up to the West End – it’s a thrifty affair, with a cast of two and one ingenious set. (Soutra Gilmore’s design, as always, deserves a special mention: a series of flight cases that flip open to become a Chinatown restaurant, a fancy cocktail spot, an ice skating rink and the Plaza Hotel). But it is carried joyfully onwards and upwards by the wit and charm of its excellent cast, its upbeat music and outstanding libretto."

"Tutty is a real talent. He brings the sweetness and floppiness of early career Hugh Grant, but relies less on cringey posh diffidence and more on a sweet theatricality - he’s seen the movies and now he’s determined to live the dream. As tough-on-the-outside New York waitress Robin, Dujonna Gift brings a powerful voice and emotional presence to a prickly role that’s less sympathetic because it is less well-rounded."

"Charming romcom is a treat" (Kiln Theatre)

"Two-hander musical matches its wide-eyed hero and sardonic heroine with just the right mix of sugar and sour"

"Dujonna Gift blends sweet and sorrow in the role, and can even sing sarcastically, which is quite the talent."

"Soutra Gilmour’s set design, two skyscrapers of frost-shaded luggage circling on an endless carousel, perfectly captures the mood."

"In Tim Jackson’s engaging production, wonderfully performed by Gift and Tutty, Two Strangers wears its romcom influences proudly but never sappily. Funny, heartfelt but unsentimental, it’s a charmer."

"It's hard not to love this ode to romcoms" (Kiln Theatre)

"This charming Christmas musical, which references films from When Harry Met Sally to Ghostbusters, will have you pining for the Big Apple"

"Christmas comes early to the Kiln with this charming two-person musical that riffs on New York romcoms."

"Fortunately, the knowing schmaltz of Jim Barne and Kit Buchan’s script and score is undercut with larky wit and a determination to not always do the obvious."

"They both have light, pleasing, mid-range singing voices that can ramp up into full-throated vibrato at moments of high emotion. Their relationship is rigged from the start, but I believed in their chemistry and didn’t see the twist coming."

"The denouement is delicately handled and the whole thing really, really made me want to visit New York again. The Christmas shows seem to come earlier each year, but when they are as sweet as this, they’re very welcome."

"Sam Tutty and Dujonna Gift shine in this slyly subversive musical interrogation of festive romcoms" (Kiln Theatre)

"The name might not be particularly tinselly, but this winsome, musical two-hander is an extremely charming tribute to – but also a subversion of – the Christmas romcom, both the Richard Curtis variety and the trashy Netflix it’s-snowing-in-New-York! breed."

"Co-written by Jim Barne and Kit Buchan, the book does a great job of gleefully embracing festive romcom tropes while deftly resisting sentimentality. Neither does it have any problem turning on the old endorphins, but it’s the gradual dawning that both Dougall and Robin’s lives are much more complicated than convention dictates that powers the show."

"With just a small band and an aversion to overemoting, Barne and Buchan’s tunes fit nimbly into Tim Jackson’s fast-paced production but show-stoppers they’re not. What works best are the more patter-style, semi-spoken word numbers"

"Mostly, though, it’s powered by two delightful leads... Tutty shows his range with a funny and somewhat tragic performance as a loveable nerd who sweet-natured zest for life blinds him to the sadness of his own circumstance. Gift is less well-known, and saddled with the straighter role, but she’s also excellent."

(Kiln Theatre)

"More seasonal sass in Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York), which aptly, given its title, insists on having its cake and eating it. On the one hand, this musical from Jim Barne and Kit Buchan echoes every romcom in cinema history; on the other, it sends itself up for doing so. The result is a sweetly irresistible, tongue-in-cheek piece."

"For every knowingly saccharine plot-twist, Barne and Buchan have a salty antidote in the shape of a witty song."

"Tutty and Gift make a great double act... Tutty is very droll as the gawky Dougal, but also finds something poignant in his determination to be upbeat; Gift deftly unpacks a bruised heart and guilty conscience. Both have voices that could melt snow."

"Does Broadway beckon for young stars' sweet Big Apple romcom?" (Kiln Theatre)

"Verdict: Hot Tutty"

"...Sam Tutty goes and sprinkles stardust all over this much smaller and sweeter two-person musical romcom set in New York. Tutty shows himself a delightful fusion of Ed Sheeran and Andrew Scott."

"The script crackles with quality gags and lyrics"

"And the great thing about the score is that it has no big agenda. It skips cheerfully along with the story, tossing in familiar melodies from Sinatra, fun bits of rap, a couple of melancholy torch songs and a spoof of sappy Christmas classics."

"Boy-meets-girl musical is a self-referential treat" (Kiln Theatre)

"A bumbling English boy and a spiky New York barista collide in the Big Apple in this unsentimental Christmas musical about trying not to get swallowed up by the city in your messy twenties"

"If you’re after Christmas cheer without the sentimentality (or wince-inducing panto puns) you’ll be captivated by this seasonal gem of a musical. It’s the handiwork of newcomers Jim Barne and Kit Buchan, who’ve taken the trite theme of boy-meets-girl in New York and turned it into something self-referential, witty, and gorgeously, undeniably festive."

"... Sam Tutty does a stellar job of showcasing his sweeter and (slightly) more grown-up side as bumbling English country boy Dougal."

"Hamilton alumni Dujonna Gift is compellingly spiky as this disillusioned barista, gradually unfurling the pain behind her knife-sharp exterior."

"In the hands of director and choreographer Tim Jackson, the jokes land like a blizzard of falling snow."

"... Two Strangers captures all the messiness of being in your twenties without a plan, showing how big cities can crush anyone naive enough to see them as a pretty backdrop to their dreams."

"Shades of Richard Curtis in this charming romcom" (Kiln Theatre)

"Jim Barne and Jim Buchanan's heartfelt musical two-hander has all the ingredients to be an irresistibly sweet treat for the festive season"

"... whatever the title, we can certainly call this show from up-and-coming writers Jim Barne and Jim Buchanan a total charmer. They developed it with mentorship from the established pair of George Stiles and Anthony Drewe, so this is a cheering product of the improved pipeline for British musicals."

"The two-hander is modest in form, but achieves the deceptively difficult aim of creating distinct individuals who truly gain, and reward, our emotional investment."

"Not all of the songs feel necessary, but they’re delivered with conviction by the winning pair of Sam Tutty (an Olivier winner for Dear Evan Hansen) and Dujonna Gift. They have contrasting but beautifully complementary voices – one sweet and fluting, one rich and powerful – just as their opposites-attract characters believably bond."

"(Criterion Theatre)"

"Tutty (Dear Evan Hansen) and Gift excel, and earn their standing ovation. Yet the contrivances pile up, and there is a sense of almost-there about an appealing yet underplotted show whose natural running time feels as if it should be 80 minutes straight through rather than two hours plus interval."

"Charming two-person musical" (Kiln Theatre)

"Bittersweet fairytale of New York is charming and good-looking, but insubstantial"

"The formula here is pure romcom, but there are enough twists in Buchan’s engaging book to make it interesting."

"Buchan’s book is a genuine delight, laced with humour, tinged with sadness and featuring some sparkling dialogue. Barne’s modern score is comfortable and complements the book, but too few of the songs live up to the drama that is rocking Robin and Dougal’s world. Jackson’s well-paced direction handles the dramatic tension perfectly, and delivers some big, showbiz moments that can’t help but raise a smile."

"The performances are bright and well-rounded."

"Good, gentle fun" (Kiln Theatre)

"What a tantalising near miss. Here’s a brisk chamber musical with lots of charm and impressive central performances from Dujonna Gift and Sam Tutty... Why doesn’t the story about an Englishman in New York sweep you off your feet? The songs are tuneful enough, and the lyrics are subtle, but in the end the British co-writers, the composer Jim Barne and the poet and journalist Kit Buchan, don’t quite make you care enough about what will happen to the two characters."

"This journey is bumpier, played out on the designer Soutra Gilmour’s revolving pile of suitcases. Like the Hollywood references, the set is something of a distraction, and the four-piece band perched above the actors lack firepower. Still, using the drums to punctuate the couple’s falling-out in The Argument is a clever touch. The songs are fine; the script doesn’t quite do them justice."