REVIEW: The Deceptive Power Of Acting On Performers Plays Out With Hilarious Comedy In STAGE KISS
STAGE KISS
Friday 20th March 2026, 7:30pm, New Theatre Newtown Sydney
Alice Livingstone (Director) brings Sarah Ruhl’s (Playwright) study of human behaviour and the blurring of acting and actual to the New Theatre stage. First presented in 2011 in Chicago, this is a hilarious series of plays within plays that considers when acting becomes so convincing that the actors confuse it for reality.
Sarah Ruhl draws on the common, if the gossip magazines are anything to go by, occurrence of on-stage and on-screen romances crossing over into real life as the actors go beyond fooling the audience into believing the characters have chemistry to believing they, themselves are in love. To present this on stage, Ruhl has STAGE KISS following the reuniting of two former lovers as they rehearse and perform a ridiculously convoluted play that was flop on Broadway in 1932 but the equally ridiculous director Adrian Schwalbach (Nicholas Papademetriou) believes that he can turn into a success with “some judicious cuts” in the 21st century. As expected, despite the leading lady’s (Emma Delle-Vedove) original disdain for her leading man (Jason Spindlow), their separation years ago not being amicable, she ends up getting swept away and they are back to where they were 20 years ago.
Just as the lines between reality and make believe blur for the central couple, Set Designer Merle Leuschner ensures that the set morphs from the stark reality of a rehearsal room to the ‘fully formed’ set which is clearly a set, to a space that blurs the lines between reality and the new fiction that Schwalbach creates in his new play that he wants the couple to star in. Bianca De Nicola’s costuming goes on the same journey though there are elements from fiction that carry across to reality to reinforce the blurring of lines that occurs.
When you settle into the idea that the acting within Schwalbach’s plays are scene chewingly terrible the skill of the Livigstone's performers to shift between the ‘reality’ and the ‘fiction’ can fully be appreciated. Delle-Vedove’s actress is unsure of herself as she returns to the stage after years away being a wife and a mother but she is better than Schwalbach and his terrible scripts deserve. Spindlow’s career actor is cocky, confident and also better than Schwalbach’s generally questionable casting. Playing the husband in the sub-play’s love triangle, Lynden Jones ensures that the acting is clearly ‘directed’ and deliberate but when he returns in the second act as the actress’ husband, the stable, reliable accountant, he infuses the ‘real’ person with an honest and naturalism.
Nichola Denton doubles as the maid and daughter in Schwalbach’s first play but really gets to shine in the second act as the Actress’ daughter Angela. She captures the petulant teen who beneath the grunge and swearing gets to the underlying truth of the situation. Victoria Fowler presents the Best Friend of Schwalbach’s central character in the play within a play but has a meatier role as the Actor’s conservative, “always positive”, kindergarten teacher girlfriend Laurie as she allows the role to have a glimpse of an undertone that everything isn’t quite as it seems. Frank Shanahan plays the role of Kevin, Schwalbach’s protégée, though it quickly becomes clear that he seems to be kept around as the director’s ‘pet’ rather than for any real talent and Shanahan leans into the ridiculousness of the character with exaggeration that would put a pantomime performer to shame.
While at times it feels the work could do with some cuts with points laboured a little too long as Ruhl uses her characters to get preachy and philosophical rather that let the audience come to the same conclusion through observation of the drama, Livingstone ensures that the comedy of the work comes out. Another entertaining escape from the seriousness of the real world from New Theatre.
Photos: Bob Seary
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