Stop Kiss ~ Theatre Guild Student Society ~ Review

[SA Theatre] Little Theatre Adelaide University Wed 3 December, 2025 Sara (Elizabeth Lijo) is new in town when she and Callie (Esther Burnett) meet up. Already a veteran of 5 years standing in New York City, Callie and Sara hit it off from the start. Callie offers to show Sara some of the sights of the city and a friendship is born. Neither it would seem have any other intentions than just to be friends. How their friendship develops steadily and awkwardly toward something much deeper is really the crux of Stop Kiss, and both the lead players do a great job of dancing around what seems inevitable to the audience. Esther Burnett in particular has a strong stage presence, and is not shy about expressing strong feelings when pressed. Her dressing down of the smarmy male cop smirking about lesbians was a treat. The Little Theatre is a great performance space, and its split levels were used to great effect to separate different threads off the play. Some interesting time shifting allowed the audience to get a glimpse of how characters would behave in a future they were not yet aware of. Stop Kiss has more scenes that most plays – about twenty in fact. Every new scene required at least some set changes and it became a little tedious after a while. There was a lot of down time. This was partly offset by an intriguing live soundtrack by Jarrod Matulich filling in the voids. It gave time for reflection and adds a layer of abstraction to events on stage. However, to continue with these sonic interludes throughout the play, behind or over the dialogue was a risky decision. Having to choose whether to listen to the soundtrack or the dialogue risks a level of distraction that can cause some cognitive overload. It also makes it harder to hear what’s been said. I appreciate the intention – adding a layer of subconscious ambience; cues that reinforce or challenge the meaning of the words, but it muddied the waters for me. There were many fine moments in this show but none more so than the final scene when the love between between Sara and Callie is openly declared, and a moment of delicate intimacy shows us all what lies ahead of them. Footnote:  I loved the directors’ program notes. They tell a wonderful story of how staging a play can join a group of creative people in a precious bond of awe and respect. 3.5 stars Michael Coghlan #The Clothesline