Two Strangers is another love letter written to NYC and cinematic rom-coms
We just have too many love letters written to New York City from London theatres recently: Bridge theatre’s nostalgic revival of Guys and Dolls, Webber’s legendary Sunset Boulevard at the Savoy, and the National Theatre’s transfer of the mythical Hadestown. Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) is another that fervently bespeaks its love for the Big Apple, the magical place where every romantic comedy you can imagine.
Two Strangers aims to portray another rom-com that, according to one of its writers, Kit Buchan, happens between real, normal people: “people who don’t have any particular talent, burning ambition, remarkable backstories, high-powered jobs, or stacks of excess cash.” Therefore in this story, we meet our hero and heroine: Dougal (Sam Tutty), a British boy coming to New York for the first time who has never come to NYC before, and now heading for his estranged father’s wedding; and Robin (Dujonna Gift), a New Yorker whose older sister is about to marry Dougal’s father in just one day.
These two characters are distinctly different. Dougal, a light-hearted country mouse in the city, is embellished with endless curiosity. He reminds us of a character you will find in an anime, while Robin seems quite realistic: a low incomer working in a cafe in New York who has bad luck in dating apps. Perhaps only in a rom-com the two can co-exist without a sense of dissonance. Typical as a rom-com, the two begin as sheer strangers — though technically, aunt-and-nephew-in-law. After a series of events, misunderstandings, and quarrels, they end up in love and marriage. The structure of the play is fairly “neat”, ticking all the boxes of a proper rom-com arc with its beginning, middle, climatic scene and end – just like a real movie.
Dougal, somewhat embodying his writers Kit Buchan and Jim Barne, admits his penchant for watching an abundance of movies. This cue recurs throughout the show, which distinctly mirrors the structure of a rom-com. Indeed, the show seems like a theatrical “demo” to attract investors for its “full-scale”, cinematic version. The structure of the play is fairly “neat”, ticking all the boxes of a proper rom-com arc with its beginning, middle, climatic scene and end – just like a real movie.
But it is not. The very first time, I feel that movie can be a much superior art genre than theatre to make a good rom-com. Movie offers a richness in storyboard language, character arcs, and the nuanced psychological changes visible through micro-expressions, along with more authentic settings — elements where theatre’s reliance on imagination sometimes falls short. For instance, when Robin rejects a date from Tinder (oh of course the social media, how can we miss that in the tickbox) and decides to spending the wedding eve with Dougal across Manhattan, the pair walk on a spinning stage with two piles of symbolic suitcases, cleverly by Soutra Gilmour. Similarly, in the last scene, the two part ways amidst “falling snow” made of white flakes. Both visual effects seem adequate, yet pale and bland in comparison to those in cinematic rom-coms. The ambience is somewhat missing.
There are some twists and turns in the second half. When the pair wake up finding themselves in The Plaza, they burst into quarrel on whether to attend the wedding. The sudden argument feels somewhat hollow, lacking certain background stories and psychological depth. It is hard to ground and justify the whole subplot of Dougal’s father-son issue, as well as Robin’s insistence on not going. Although this is slightly hinted that Dougal’s father may had an affair with Robin, the conflict seems contrived, ticking off a box: a rom-com needs a highlighted conflict to resolve so that the hero and heroine can grow closer once they reconcile.
The real love and affection in Two Strangers, is actually given to New York City itself: to all rom-com settings, to its subway, to the Statue of Liberty, and to its iconic hot dogs. Such love is so prominent that I suddenly felt moody, craving for a hot dog after the show ends. But really, let’s just leave the rom-coms to the genre of movies, shall we?