It's the 1920s. Stephanie is a typical Thoroughly Modern Millie. She's got the latest bob cut. She smokes and drinks and drives a truck. And she wants a baby. At 32, there's no time to waste. Alas, the war in which her husband lost his life, took half a generation of young men. Where's a daddy? Thankfully, a Dr Trollop has the answer... Enter Dennis. He's a stiff cutie in his late twenties, elegant in three piece suit and bowler hat. Dennis has a superpower. He can impregnate women with a single ejaculation. Of the 711 women he has serviced, 202 have got pregnant. Now it's Stephanie's turn.
Kiss Me is a quirky, laugh-out-loud, look at love and sex. Set at a time where world events created a turning point in gender roles and emancipation, it's a whimsical what-if juxtaposing aspiration and optimism with harsh reality. Dennis can kiss Stephanie's neck, ears, and possibly her inner thigh, but he can't kiss her mouth because that would break Dr Trollop's rigid rules of play. Kissing a body is just sex. Kissing a mouth leads to love. So what will happen if Stephanie demands, Kiss Me, and then creates a way of making it possible? And what will happen if Stephanie has the illegitimate child she craves, in a world where the babies of single women are forcibly put up for adoption?
Whether it's England People Very Nice or Great Britain or The Heretic, Richard Bean's writing is so light touch that big stories (immigration, Murdoch, the environment) are declawed through playful examination. Even while looking backwards and providing context, he's propelling debate forwards. The same is true of Kiss Me. It may feel like small bananas, but it's small and perfect and fills the little space at Hampstead Downstairs. At £12 a ticket it's a steal.
In conclusion: Anna Ledwich directs Kiss Me joyfully. Even through the less joyful bits. As brave Stephanie, Claire Lams is a heroine for all time, and Ben Lloyd-Hughes says little and does much as the complex Dennis. When it ended, I think half of us would happily have gone home with the characters, just to find out if we could help.
Hampstead Theatre, Eton Road, London NW3 3EU Run ends 3 December 2016
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