Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) review: Boy-meets-girl musical is a self-referential treat

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

Dujonna Gift (Robin) and Sam Tutty (Dougal) in ‘Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York)' (Marc Brenner)

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.

After landing an Olivier Award for playing a warped teenager in Dear Evan Hansen, Sam Tutty does a stellar job of showcasing his sweeter and (slightly) more grown-up side as bumbling English country boy Dougal. He’s in New York for his estranged Dad’s wedding, and has big dreams of a family reunion with all the trimmings: skyscrapers, hotdogs, and ice skating, just like in the movies. But when sister-of-the-bride Robin is sent to pick this hopelessly naive 25-year-old from the airport, she can’t resist bursting his bubble. 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. Comedy number “Under the Mistletoe” is especially funny, with Tutty and Gift lurching into mock-suave crooning (him) and a grotesque girlish screech (her) as they send up the cringey misogyny of mid-century Christmas songs.

‘Two Strangers’ is a winning contribution to London’s lineup of festive shows (Marc Brenner)

In other duets, Gift’s punchy vocals don’t blend especially smoothly with Tutty’s softer tones. But if we don’t get the plangent harmonies that make romantic two-hander musicals like The Last Five Years so heart-wrenching, there’s something just as satisfying on offer here. Barne and Buchan have a rare talent for combining soaring melodies with lyrics that feel natural and conversational, showing their protagonists getting to know each other in impressively witty couplets.

Soon this unlikely pair are carrying a wedding cake across New York (hence the title: an earlier version of this show premiered in 2019 at the New Wolsey Theatre under the less cumbersome name The Season). Of course they’re going to drop it. But not everything about this show feels so predictable. Robin and Dougal do all the classic romcom stuff (from Central Park ice skating to a Pretty Woman-style shopping spree) without falling headlong in love, not quite.

Instead, 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. And if that doesn’t sound especially festive, there are also infectiously joyful dance scenes, flakes of snow falling from the sky, and an uplifting message about the lure of home. It’s a winning contribution to London’s lineup of festive shows, and one with an appeal that’ll last long after the last tinsel comes down.

Kiln Theatre, until 20 January, 2024