Two Strangers (Carry A Cake Across New York) release EP ahead of West End transfer
Sam Tutty and Dujonna Gift. Credit: Craig SugdenWritten by Penny for Theatre and Tonic.
It’s an exciting time for fans of British musicals. The Olivier Award winning Standing at The Sky’s Edge has transferred from the National Theatre to the West End, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie is back in town and this summer sees Why Am I So Single?, the new show from the writers of Six, opening at The Garrick.
And as if that wasn’t enough, another new British musical is about to open at the Criterion Theatre, following a very successful run at the Kiln Theatre over Christmas and New Year. Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) was an instant hit with theatre fans, garnering something of a cult following with people coming back time and time again. One song from the show managed to clock up 100,000 hits on Spotify in just five weeks, so now an EP has been released, featuring eight songs.
Where better to launch the EP than at the iconic Abbey Road Studios, in the actual studio that The Beatles recorded in? The excitement at being in the room where it happened (sorry, wrong show) was clearly shared by the cast, creatives and invited audience for this special event.
As if the intriguing title wasn’t enough to grab your attention, the show’s premise is great fun. As co-writer Kit Buchan explained, the plot is basically all there in the title! It’s a two-hander, telling the story of Dougal, a credulous 25 year old Brit, who travels to New York where he meets cynical American Robin – and they accidentally spend the next 36 hours together, navigating the city and learning about each other and themselves along the way. Kit said:
“The show differs from most musicals as they are usually about major events in lives of important people and this is about microcosmically small events in the lives of unimportant people, but we’ve found there is just as much reason to sing songs in telling those stories!”
Kit also acknowledged that the show is a bit of an homage to classic rom coms, saying
“It is a boom time right now for rom coms that are a bit different, subversive and textured so I would love our show to be considered part of that. We set out to make a rom com that pokes fun at rom coms, we wanted to, forgive the pun, have our cake and eat it!”
Dougal and Robin are played by Sam Tutty and Dujonna Gift – two hugely talented actors who are clearly relishing the opportunity to create and develop these roles. They performed a few of the show’s songs, taking full advantage of the great acoustics in the room to display stunning vocals and fantastic storytelling as they gave us a taster of what to expect from this exciting new musical.
Talking about singing at actual Abbey Road, Sam said:
“I’ve never been here before, it’s very surreal to be in a space where so much has happened, so much creativity, writing, and so many amazing things. It’s a really proud moment in my life to be associated with this room for a brief moment”.
And on her journey with the show, Dujonna added:
“You really never know where you’re going to end up. We took on a six week gig in July last year and when we got to the third week we made a video announcing an extension! It was a most exciting moment when we realised there’s more life to be had (for the show) and here we are realising there’s even more life still to be had and we’re celebrating that in Abbey Road Studios, where some of the people that I grew up singing recorded those songs. It’s crazy but I’m very grateful to know that this is just a step in this journey”
The pair are clearly very excited to bring the show to the Criterion but are full of praise for their experience at the Kiln. Sam loved the intimate performance space, where you could see the audience reactions up close. On their repeat visitors, Dujonna joked that it felt like some people had seen the show more times than she’d performed it, but loved that audiences were excited to see what would happen on another night as the show and its characters evolved.
Following the performances, I had the opportunity to ask the cast and creatives a few questions.
On how the show came about, book writer and lyricist Kit explained:
“I don’t remember now, it’s so long ago! It takes eight years to get a musical to the West End, even a tiny one with two actors. What we brought to it was our complete lack of understanding of New York but our love of films that are set there, with a desire to write musicals set on planet earth with people our age experiencing what we were experiencing. At the time it felt like we were in our mid 20s and not knowing where we were going in our lives and we wanted to represent that”.
As to whether we can expect any changes when the show opens at the Criterion, Director Tim Jackson said:
“I don’t think there’s anything tectonic happening, but every time we’ve come back to this over the years we’ve worked on it and there are always things we take time to reflect on and tweak, and we’re still going through that process. The show in its essence will be same as it was at the Kiln, it’s just going through a little bit of honing and reflection”.
In such an incredible location as Abbey Road, associated with the great and good of the pop music industry, I had to ask about people who have been inspirational in the team’s careers.
Tim: “In pop, I lived and breathed Elton John and Bernie Taupin. Billy Joel as well, I actually just saw him at Madison Square Gardens. Writers who have beautiful stories in their lyrics that take you on a journey are always going to be my jam”.
Kit: “As a lyricist I’d say Elton John. Jim (Barne, composer) and I really love the American artist Josh Ritter, he’s a gifted lyricist. But when it comes to telling stories, my all time favourite is Joanna Newsom, she’s an amazing lyricist”.
Dujonna: “I’m actually very much blessed to have worked with some really cool people very early on in my career and there are so many I want to work with. I love watching people work and I think especially in musical theatre where everything has an exclamation mark (!) I love seeing the little moments. I’ve been so inspired by Sam, watching who Dougal was at the first show right through to to who he was at the last, I find that really inspiring”.
Sam: “There are people in the industry I look up to but I think the main inspiration comes from yourself and what you find in what you’re doing, so seeing characters change and evolve is an inspiration. It’s life affirming to see the work Dujonna puts in”.
I have to say it’s pretty inspirational to see how much Dujonna and Sam respect and inspire each other. It’s a fantastic partnership.
And finally, I wanted to know why people should come and see Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York):
Tim: “It’s really relatable, you’ve got a pair of people who are going to make you laugh, maybe make you cry, and definitely take you on a journey. It’s witty and it’s fun and it’s full of absolutely full of heart and I think we deserve to be told stories that make us laugh as well as cry”.
Kit: “Because audiences deserve to see stories about people they might identify with, and much as I sing the praises of rom coms, they tend to be about people who are doing high powered things or who have a lot of money. Generally, especially in musical theatre, we tell stories about ‘important’ people and most of us don’t feel important, we all make mistakes and don’t always treat ourselves or others well. This is a story about two people who have those irreducible flaws but are able to recover a sense of self respect through meeting each other”.
Sam: “It’s human and very honest and I think there’s always part of an audience member’s personality that means they’ll identify with the characters, laugh, cry, and see two people change and change each other”.
Dujonna: “As much as this show can break your heart it’s also hilarious. Some nights Sam says a line and I find I’m just cackling to myself inside as it’s so funny. It’s a really good night out, I hope that’s something we can keep going”.
Two Strangers (Carry a Cake Across New York) opens at the Criterion Theatre on 4th April 2024. You can find more information and book here.
The EP is available to stream now on Spotify and all the usual places.
