Review: Love Quirks (The Other Palace Studio)

Review by Dan Ghigeanu

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I'm sure we’ve all been there at some point, the sleepless nights spent deciphering text messages, wondering if they like us back, and relying on our friends for advice, distraction, or just a bottle of cheap wine and a shoulder to cry on. Love Quirks, now playing at The Other Palace Studio, taps directly into that universal experience of romantic tangle, heartbreak, and friendship. It's not just a musical, it's a celebration of the messy, beautiful, confusing lives spent looking for love.

After winning four Broadway World Off-Broadway Awards, including Best Production of a Musical for its run in 2020, this vibrant show makes its London debut with a fresh British twist. With a dazzlingly talented cast, hilarious writing, and an immense amount of emotional depth, Love Quirks is a warm, funny, witty piece. At its heart, Love Quirks is a story about four friends navigating the unpredictable waters of dating. Whether they are freshly out of relationships, grappling with unanswered love, or trying to re-enter the dating scene, each of these characters is deeply relatable with striking emotional specificity.

What makes Love Quirks stand out is not just its musical wit or its comic charm, of which there is plenty, but its understanding of how friendship shelters us from the falls that come with love. The plot, which cleverly interweaves past heartbreaks with new beginnings, never feels forced. It flows naturally, unfolding through scenes that are alternately funny and genuinely heartbreaking. The writing is honest, grounded, delivering situations we’ve all found ourselves in, perhaps with better lighting and sharper punchlines.

Casting for a show that is so deeply rooted in character relationships can sometimes be tricky, but this cast is a perfect match. Lewis Bear Brown, Ayesha Patel, Clodagh Greene, and Tom Newland bring such palpable chemistry to the stage, you would think they had actually been friends for years. Their dynamic feels authentic, allowing the humour and heartache of the show to resonate more deeply.

Lewis Bear Brown is a standout as Ryan, the ‘gay best friend’ of the group, bringing real nuance to the role. His comedic timing is razor-sharp, but it’s the quiet moments, where you see his heart breaking just a little, that shows his range fully. Ayesha Patel brings fierce intelligence and raw emotion to Lili, a woman caught between nostalgia for a love that would never work and the decision of moving on. Her journey is deeply moving, and Ayesha Patel navigates it with grace and gravitas.

Tom Newland’s Chris is wonderfully layered, charming but flawed. He captures that delicate balance perfectly, portraying a man searching for his happy story, but unfortunately looking in all the wrong places. Clodagh Greene’s Stephanie is simply luminous. From the vulnerability of post-divorce disillusionment to the empowered glow of rediscovery, she charts her arc with depth, humour, and warmth. She brings an uplifting sense of self-discovery to the role that’s both inspiring and very funny. Each character’s storyline is stitched seamlessly into the story, and together they form a picture of love, romantic, platonic, and lasting.

It’s not easy to write a musical score that is both memorable and emotional, but Seth Bisen-Hersh does exactly that and then some. The songs are smart, fresh, and extremely catchy. They manage to help with progressing character development without ever feeling too explanatory. The harmonies in group numbers like “Love Quirks” and “In Love” are rich and tight, and the cast sings them beautifully. There’s a particular magic when their voices blend, as if the sound of their friendship is fixed in the music.

Songs like “Darling, I Loved You / Who Knows Why?” provide real emotional weight. Sung beautifully by Ayesha Patel and Clodagh Greene, the number is a gentle exploration of vulnerability and insecurity in love. It’s soft, sad, and incredibly real. It’s not all sentimental, the show is also extremely hilarious. One of the clear highlights is “Haven’t You Noticed?” a funny coming-out number delivered with impeccable comic timing by Lewis Bear Brown and Ayesha Patel. Even though the song is meant to be a funny coming out number, which it is, it doesn’t sacrifice character development for the sake of a punchline. This is comedy that comes from truth, and that’s why it works so well.

Cecilie Fray’s direction is quietly masterful. She allows moments to breathe while keeping the pacing quick and engaging. The show never feels cluttered or overly busy, the staging feels fluid and imaginative. She ensures that every emotional beat lands and every joke hits without feeling forced. It’s a tricky balance but the show finds its tone effortlessly making you laugh one minute and making you emotional the next.

Bob Sterrett’s set design is misleadingly simple but clever. An L-shaped sofa, a bed, and a table are all that’s used to make all the locations required in the show, from an apartment to a football stadium. With clever lighting done by Oliver McNally, the transitions are seamless, creating a fluid, intimate atmosphere that allows you to really connect with the story. The costumes, designed by Alice McNicholas, are as colourful and characterful as the book itself. Each outfit feels like an extension of the person wearing it, from the street fashion flair of Lili to the relaxed style of Ryan, helping to ground the characters in a world that feels modern and familiar.

Above all, Love Quirks is a show about hope, the kind that keeps us going after bad dates, difficult breakups, or moments of self-doubt. It’s a reminder that while love may never be easy, it’s always worth it. More than that, it reminds us that while we’re searching for “the one,” they might be in front of us the whole time. Love Quirks is sincere, intimate, and heartfelt, a deeply funny but genuinely moving show, and with its brilliant cast, clever writing, and tons of charm, the show is an absolute delight.

Love Quirks plays at The Other Palace Studio until October 12th

For tickets and information visit https://theotherpalace.co.uk/love-quirks-a-new-musical/

Photos by Anna Clare Photography