Review: Meat Cute (The Other Palace Studio)

Review by Seth Wilby

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Rom-Coms appear to be everywhere lately. From our cinemas to our theatres, we seem to love celebrating love. Yet, so often, this is love of the romantic kind, which is such a small portion of the relationships that define us. That’s where Meat Cute comes in. A platonic rom-com, it’s a celebration of womanhood and friendship, and the struggles and joys that life brings. And, in case the star rating at the top of the page didn’t give it away, the result was something spectacularly delightful.

Written and performed by Laura Kirman and Meg Travers, the play follows two women in their thirties who fall head over heels for each other and form a friendship that teaches them the true meaning of love. Following our characters through divorce, babies, and vegetarianism, the piece depicts several meetings between the two as their friendship grows, intersecting these with short, narrative catch-ups of their backstories, as well as scenes of their lives beyond this all, filling a euphoric sixty minutes in the Other Palace’s intimate studio with heart, joy, and, most of all, a constant chorus of laughter.

With a team consisting of many Mischief Theatre alumni (the bar space at this press night felt like a Mischief reunion party), you expect it to be funny. What you don’t expect, however, is for it to be one of the most hilarious shows you can see right now. With cackles chortling from all corners of the room, this reaches levels of unbridled humour that could only arise from writers as naturally funny as Kirman and Travers. They know exactly when to dial up the extremity to unhinged ridicule, and also when to calm the tone down to stop the laughs from feeling forced. Excelling in both one-liner puns and situational comedy, you spend the night gleefully awaiting the next laugh, knowing it’s gonna come soon, yet with it still managing to surprise you. Truly masterful.

To simply call it funny, though, is underselling it. It is also a great piece of storytelling, accomplishing a near-impossible balance of everything that makes a play great. Take, for example, the scenes where we’re caught up on our characters' actions and feelings up to this point, with the two simply faxing the audience and speaking in between each other. Primarily, these are a great storytelling device, setting up the narrative ahead of our next meeting between the friends. Yet, their success runs deeper than that- mainly, one of our characters is explaining something serious, while our other is focused on a sillier situation. This allows a narrative to happen without damaging the mood, and each is handled with such elegance that the audience can cope with these differing tones (we still get laughs in the serious story, and the humour of the other hides a deeper significance).

For a show that runs less than an hour, without ever feeling rushed, it’s difficult to squeeze everything they manage to tackle into a review. Taking centre stage in the latter half is a raw and unfortunate look at the realities of life, and the messy journey of being a modern woman. Both characters go through difficulties and deliver beautifully saddening monologues, packed with enough heart to move you to tears, both from the connection you feel towards the characters and the unfortunate realities they depict. At its core, though, this play provides a heartwarming message of the importance of friendship, with the rom-com framing a genius way to achieve this through a mixture of parody and sincerity. The final audio montage of women discussing how much they love their friends melts every audience member’s heart.

If this writing is the meat of this delectable play’s charcuterie board, then Nancy Zamit’s direction is the fruits and the jams, bringing a varied flavour that enhances what’s already great into a perfectly sweet experience you will be raving about for days. Clearly an experienced master in comedy, the timing displayed in this play is nothing short of flawless, giving each laugh the justice it deserves without feeling forced or dull. Characters engagingly glide over Natalia Alvarez’s pleasing set (with movement by Jocelyn Prah), with Zamit also knowing exactly when to slow the pace down and focus our attention on the heart of the piece, allowing for a deep and thorough exploration of everything in the writing’s subtext. 

Perhaps one of the reasons this show was such a delight was the atmosphere Kirman, Travers and Zamit manage to create in the small space. It feels like a hangout with friends, building a community through charm and fun alone. This means the audience feels comfortable enough to laugh at everything, like you would with your best friend, yet also to emote and feel along with our characters. The small bits of audience interaction are done strategically to enhance this, never feeling rude or intrusive, and showing off the great improvisation skills of Kirman and Travers. Every moment of the theatrical experience was imbued with joy.

A two-hander relies on the strength of its performers, and, as co-writers, Kirman and Travers excel at this, showing off all their strengths as performers as well as the unambiguous chemistry that’s necessary to sell this story. Laura Kirman displays an impressive range, from a hilarious discussion on bathroom ham to a genuinely haunting monologue on a traumatic birth story, eliciting laughs from every little look she gives the audience. It is her turn as a doctor, however, that gets the night’s biggest laughs, with her physicality and commitment to the joke second to none- I haven’t laughed that much in a long time.

Travers is similarly brilliant, and her teary breakdown is devastating to watch. A stellar character comedian, her turns as two different judgmental mothers are impressively punchable, and her main role delivers enough realistic snark to give her a relatable depth. Hilarious in every moment, and heartbreaking in the next, Travers has the likeable personality you can’t help but endear to. It is when they are together that the two get to show off the most, with every moment in this play fine-tuned to perfection, and always succeeding in its aims.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from Meat Cute. What even is a platonic rom-com? Well, the answer is that it’s something spectacular, a celebration of all the best bits of friendship that leaves your heart feeling a little warmer. Magically sweet and gut-bustingly funny, this was one of the most delightful nights I’ve had at the theatre in a show that I’ve fallen madly in love with and hope I get to meat again soon.

Meat Cute plays at The Other Palace Studio until 20th June 2026. Tickets from https://theotherpalace.co.uk/meat-cute/