Review: Stage Kiss (Hampstead Theatre)

Review by Daz Gale

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Hampstead Theatre has long been one of my favourite theatres to visit, so it comes as a surprise that the first five-star review I ever awarded to any show there only arrived last year, and not before. That show was Letters From Max, a collaboration between writer Sarah Ruhl and director Blanche McIntyre. It would be an understatement to say that the play truly took my breath away, so I was incredibly excited to learn that the dream team would be reuniting for another play at Hampstead Theatre this year with the UK premiere of Stage Kiss. But could this meta tale of two actors falling in love sweep me off my feet, or would this romance be short-lived?

Stage Kiss is set in New Haven in 2011 as two actors, listed only as He and She, prepare to open a new production of the long-forgotten melodrama, The Last Kiss. The only problem is He and She are estranged lovers, and the necessity to kiss each other during the play sparks a fire in them, rekindling what they once had. With art imitating life, the lines get blurred, even more so with their fittingly named subsequent play, Blurry. Where they didn’t get it right the first time, will they have more luck this time around, or will the relationship struggle to make it past opening night?

There is both a playfulness and cleverness to Sarah Ruhl’s writing that is beautifully demonstrated on Stage Kiss. This is a play with layers that are defined by the two plays-within-the-play, and the real life that exists outside of it. The continually blurred lines leave the audience to question what is real, and what is acting, with the sense that the director could call ‘Cut’ at any given moment. Stage Kiss paints the picture from rehearsals to opening night to what happens to the lovers once the final curtain has fallen.

Where Ruhl has fun with her writing here is in how bad it is - and I mean that as the highest of compliments. The Last Kiss and Blurry are both appallingly written plays, with the audience in on the joke from the moment the synopsis is revealed on both. Ruhl plays up to this by cramming in some terrible dialogue within these plays (though I dare say I have seen worse in plays that weren’t in on the joke, even this week… mentioning no names), but balances this with her usual strength when the actors stop playing the characters. It takes a brilliant writer to deliberately include writing this bad - it may be a bit of a backhanded compliment, but few writers would be able to include two messy plays into an overarching one, and still have it come out as solidly as Stage Kiss manages.

The same backwards compliment can be said for the always exceptional Blanche McIntyre, who sees Ruhl’s deliberately bad writing and matches it with deliberately bad direction. Except the direction isn’t bad at all. Far from it, in fact. It is only bad when looked at in the context of the two fictional plays inside Stage Kiss - when looking at it as part of this play, it’s all pretty impressive. The overacting that is required of the cast in The Last Kiss is used to hilarious effect, always exaggerated and eliciting the right laughs in the right places in a testament to McIntyre’s knack for landing the timing with fantastic comedic direction.

Both acts of Stage Kiss are markedly different from each other, with the first centring on the build-up to the premiere of The Last Kiss, and Act Two showcasing the aftermath. In the space of the interval, opening night has turned into closing night, and He and She are now pondering life after this play. That is when their next venture falls into their laps, somehow even worse than the first, and all the more entertaining for it. Because of the false sense of security the audience have been lured in prior to this, I always had a cynical eye, wondering if the moments that were “real life” were actually a play. This was heightened when one overly theatrical moment had me convinced we were watching another play-within-a-play. Stage Kiss will keep you on your toes like that, and is certainly never boring. If I am to be completely honest, I found myself more enamoured with the first act than the second. Though it still kept me entertained throughout, slight pacing issues meant the first act landed with a bit more weight for me.

Robert Innes Hopkins’ design is deceptive in its approach and full of surprises. Beginning as a blank canvas - a bare stage with nothing more than a series of chairs, the rehearsal room suddenly bursts with life as props and backdrops gradually fill the stage until we see the fully staged version of The Last Kiss. This is transformed again for the second act, with fantastic detail creating a visually stimulating production. Strong lighting from Oliver Fenwick (including a brilliant self-referencing moment in act two) and sound from Gregory Clarke ensure the standard is met in every design element.

Patrick Kennedy is a dominant force in the role of “He”, proving to be a catalyst of events and performing the role with a great deal of gravitas as well as displaying a great deal of chemistry with She. That role is wonderfully played by Myanna Buring, with a strong stage presence that endears her to the audience from the first moment. Here is a woman who is conflicted by her choices - there is a sense that her best years are behind her, and she is self-deprecating when talking about her successes, or lack thereof. Buring channels this beautifully in an always captivating performance, whether she is being her true self or one of the many characters she is playing, in the best example of the multiple layers Stage Kiss offers.

Oliver Dimsdale has several strong moments as “Husband”, particularly in his final appearance, with Toto Bruin offering a differing dynamic as Angela. Rolf Saxon gets some humorous, larger-than-life moments as “Director”, ironically and fantastically playing up to the directionless nature of his style. James Phoon proves a standout in the cast as the hapless Kevin, a young and enthusiastic actor who attempts every role with gusto - perhaps too much. His overacting early on is one of the funnier moments of the entire play, and while there is nothing subtle about Kevin’s acting, there certainly is in Phoon’s, who demonstrates what an accomplished and versatile performer he is in a spectacular albeit underused turn.

Stage Kiss is going to tickle the funny bones for anyone who has any sort of love for theatre - whether they have ever been on stage themselves, backstage in any capacity, or simply loves to reside in the audience. Never afraid to poke fun at some of the more ridiculous aspects of it, the deliberately bad writing and direction are incredibly refreshing, knowing full well the skill of the two people behind it. Sarah Ruhl and Blanche McIntyre have a knack for coming up with pure theatrical magic when they unite, with Hampstead Theatre the perfect setting for their collaborations. Stage Kiss can be considered a love letter to theatre and the lovers that dwell inside it, but also a slightly passive-aggressive text message with an air of gaslighting - and by that I mean it may say “I love you”, but there is a small degree of loathing behind that love. In any case, Stage Kiss is a whole lot of fun, full of as much passion for the arts as a slow and sensual snog.

Stage Kiss plays at Hampstead Theatre until 13th June. Tickets from https://www.hampsteadtheatre.com/whats-on/2026/stage-kiss/

Photos by Helen Murray