The notices are in for Table 17, Douglas Lyons’ UK premiere at the Kiln Theatre, in which two exes meet over dinner two years after their engagement collapsed and talk their way back through the wreckage. Marisha Wallace takes her first straight-play role in London opposite Jamael Westman, with Michael Rishawn — the one holdover from the American productions — playing three parts around them, and Zhailon Levingston directing as he did in New York. The critics part company over the writing and agree almost to a word on the company: the ratings run from five stars to three, the reservations gather around the play’s panto-style audience participation and the thinness of its psychology, and almost every notice singles out Rishawn as the one who comes close to stealing it.
The verdict: nine reviews in so far — one five-star notice, four four-star and four three-star, giving an average of 3.7 out of 5. Every rated outlet admires the cast and Amy Jane Cook’s revolving neon booth; where they split is on whether Lyons’ script earns the emotion it reaches for, and on how much of the audience’s own chatter the evening can carry.
What are critics saying about Table 17?
theartsdesk
"Warm, witty and wonderful comedy"
Reviewer: Gary Naylor
"Light comedy just must be harder to write and to play - else more people would do it. These three actors time every putdown, every revelation, every physical response with precision, in dialogue often charged with emotion, but producing more laughter in 95 minutes than I have heard in the previous 95 days. I’m not sure what changes Zhailon Levingston, directing here as he did in New York, has made, but he conjures sensational comedy from his cast and we love them for it."
WhatsOnStage
"The show’s greatest asset, however, is Michael Rishawn"
Reviewer: Hang Yuen
"As a bitterly single, queer receptionist and hopeless romantic, he brings vulnerability and comic timing; as Eric, he becomes a straightforward, confident man who steals Jada’s heart; and as the bartender, he is an almost hilariously narcissistic muscle bro, while simultaneously displaying genuinely impressive bartending skills (I highly recommend to take the table seats if you are going on a date – you might even get a freshly made drink from Rishawn!). His narration is equally engaging. If Rishawn steals the show, it is partly because he makes you want to see even more of him."
London Box Office
"The comedy in this performance is outstanding"
Reviewer: Eve Jawara
"The comedy in this performance is outstanding. Marisha Wallace, Jamael Westman, and Michael Rishawn had incredible chemistry together, and every joke landed with laughs from the audience. The clever switching between the events at table 17 and scenes from their relationship kept the story exciting, with plot twists and surprises as the plotline unfolds. Alongside the comedy, it allows for a touching portrayal of human relationships changing over time and how connections and soul ties can last long after a relationship falls apart."
West End Best Friend
"An otherwise superb comedy-drama"
Reviewer: Phil Meikle
"Levingston navigates the shifts between past and present with impressive fluidity, aided by Matt Haskins’ excellent lighting design. The transitions are seamless, allowing the emotional revelations to emerge naturally. Wallace and Westman share an effortless chemistry, combining strong comic instincts with genuine emotional depth. Even as painful truths surface, Lyons ensures the audience continues to hope for a reconciliation."
Theatre Weekly
"A brilliant production that boasts an incredible cast and electric performances"
Reviewer: Katie Shaw
"Marisha Wallace and Jamael Westman play Jada and Dallas, and what fitting roles for these two incredibly talented performers. Wallace shines as Jada, an instantly likeable young woman who confesses her vulnerability surrounding her meeting with Dallas to the audience from the get-go: she would take Dallas back but only if he makes it clear he wants her back first. But she would take him back. Westman is brilliant as the more closed off, emotionally ambiguous Dallas, and these two have an undeniable chemistry that adds a tangible quality to their fictional past."
The Guardian
"A tasty romcom served with dazzle and cheek"
Reviewer: Arifa Akbar
"Its ambition to double up as a serious relationship drama is not always met because of the imbalance of cutesy humour. The play treads similar ground to such recently successful romantic two-handers as Benedict Lombe’s Shifters but is not as emotionally freighted, and nor does it have the larger social framework. The point here, it seems, is to entertain with comedy and elicit sentiment from romance."
LondonTheatre.co.uk
"The fantastic cast make a hearty meal out of this charming romcom"
Reviewer: Matt Wolf
"Chances are you’ve been down this dramatic path before but rarely with the brio brought to the table (number 17, in fact) by director Zhailon Levingston, a 2026 Tony winner for the glorious Cats: The Jellicle Ball. Telling of a onetime couple who meet up for dinner two years after they chose to part, the play recalls the road that has led to their decision to call it quits, while hinting near the end at a brighter tomorrow."
BroadwayWorld
"Its core emotional truths are being lost along the way"
Reviewer: Clementine Scott
"Jada and Dallas’ conversations at dinner reveal sensitive observations from Lyons on how exes interact with each other, especially when there’s clearly still love there. But he’s far too quick to follow these up with a crude joke, or a sidelong glance to the audience. The mask is never lifted, and we never get a full sense of who these people are and why they fell in love; flashbacks depicting Jada and Dallas’ past jump straight from their first meeting in a bar to their engagement two years later."
Also reviewed by: The Stage, where Neil Norman gave three stars under the line "Attractive, lightweight US romcom is smart and entertaining" — his review sits behind a paywall, so the rating and the byline are all we can report first-hand.
Several papers were unreadable rather than silent when this roundup went up — The Telegraph, The Times and the Financial Times all refused us today — and we will add their notices here as soon as we can read them. In the meantime, the production photographs are worth a look: see our first look at Steve Gregson’s Table 17 stills, and our other recent London theatre review roundups.
Table 17 runs at the Kiln Theatre until Saturday 24 October 2026.
