Ben Lloyd-Hughes and Claire Lams star in Anna Ledwich’s production of Richard Bean’s play. But what have critics been making of it?
The Stage: ★★★ “Anna Ledwich‘s tasteful production”
The Independent: ★★★ “The play, which builds to an impressively moving climax, would be even better if it sometimes exercised a virtue not often deployed in the Bean canon – restraint.”
The Guardian: ★★★ “This quiet and often quietly funny play may be understated in its brevity and scope, but it feels honest in its exploration of the complexities of being a survivor in a world tipped upside down.”
Time Out: ★★★★ “This is a well-crafted chamber piece given a straightforward yet tender staging by Anna Ledwich.”
London Theatre1: ★★★★ “Claire Lams’ comic timing is superb, with a joyous mixture of sarcasm and quick wit”
The Reviews Hub: ★★★ “The charm of Kiss Me is limited and 75 minutes is just about right, but it is a gentle little comedy that amuses and touches in equal measure.”
The Telegraph: ★★★ “Anna Ledwich’s finely tuned production finds real tenderness in the emotional collision between two lost souls. A touching little show.”
British Theatre.com: ★★★★ “Bean always creates strong, interesting characters, and this small, yet powerful play, is well worth catching.”
British Theatre Guide: “may be painted on a small canvas but it is an intelligent work that fully deserves its West End transfer.”
Everything Theatre: ★★★★ “This is an incredibly intelligent play, weighted in historical fact, but it’s full of life, too; it tugs on your heartstrings and certainly makes you laugh.”
Evening Standard: ★★★ “Anna Ledwich’s production is intimate, unpacking the nuances of the writing in a style that’s occasionally a little finicky.”
The Sweet London Life: ★★★★ “At just 70 minutes, you are definitely left with unanswered questions and it wouldn’t hurt to explore some of the issue and characters a little deeper, but this play is, nevertheless, an insightful and relevant work, which is worth a look.”
Theatre Weekly: ★★★ “Kiss Me is an interesting concept with a strong duo in the central roles, but the writing lets it down, the constant back and forth, while occasionally amusing, just feels too contrived.”
The Times: ★★ “It feels like a writing exercise in which ideas never quite find the characters to carry them, like a cake that hasn’t risen.”
Broadway World: ★★★★ “The convergence of war and creation, love and hate, passion and apathy, involvement and recoil make Bean’s play a provocative, funny and sexually charged piece of theatre.”
Theatre Bubble: ★★★★ “a very funny, very thought-provoking play that is well executed and is definitely worth going to see.”
Plays To See: ★★★★ “Stylistically, Kiss Me is authentic, engaging and a refreshing take on this era, away from the battlefield or the patriarchal political system.”
City AM: ★★★★ “Post-war re-population is a weighty subject, but playwright Richard Bean builds a convincing argument through his twin leads, although he occasionally reaches a little too far in pursuit of their motivation.”
The Peg: ★★★★ “this small and intense drama is undoubtedly an excellent piece, and few, I suspect, would fail to be moved by it.”
Kiss Me continues to play at the Trafalgar Studios until the 8th July.
