Review! You & It, Kings Head Theatre, September 2026

If something is broken and your try to put it back together will it ever be the same again?

Rarely is the answer, and this is what the musical You & I really made me analyse after watching it. The musical ‘You & It’ is a story which focuses on love, loss, grief, memory and technology. The show which has won an award for best musical in Korea before heading to Taiwan and then trialling out at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2024 opened last night, 1st September, in London at the King's Head Theatre.

Heading to the theatre I will admit I was sceptical at first, a two person cast, holding an audience for 85 minutes. Would it hold my attention without the big musical numbers of an ensemble? Without the interaction of multiple characters, would I still be engaged at the end?

Well I needn’t have worried, Olivier Award nominee Frances Mayli McCann, known for her Westend credits including Les Misérables, Bonnie and Clyde and most recently The Great Gatsby and Zachary Pang, A Mirror (Pangdemonium Theatre Company), held me in the palm of their hands for the entire performance. A performance both should be proud of.

Seated right on the edge of the stage I was in touching distance of the duo which made for seeing every inch of their emotion on show and no room for errors. The opening song Our own little Paradise, set the atmosphere for the rest of the show. The off stage sound effects that followed left little to the imagination and left the whole room gasping and a sense that what had just happened you were part of.

The show portrayed a loving husband, Gyujin played by Zachary and his wife Mina, played by Frances with a child on the way, and the grief that followed when that reality was shattered.

What would you do if someone came along and gave you a second chance of having that love back. Would you take it?

The only thing I would say is I wish there would have been an extra scene or two to become invested more in the relationship between Mina and Gyujin at the beginning. After Mina dies she is brought back to life as an AI robot. But can technology really replace the love of a physical human being?

As the show goes on you see Gyujin, trying to navigate this new version of his late wife which, whilst very much present, has an underlying essence of being computerised. The vocals of both actors were outstanding and kept with the pace of the show. Apprehensive at the start as to whether Zachary, who is not as well known as the acclaimed Frances, would be able to match her vocals. I was impressed with how faultlessly he delivered his songs, an actor to look out for in the future.

The stage setting I felt became troublesome at points due to the lack of space. With Pillows set on the floor at the front, during a duet the pair had tripped over them going one way so had to step over them coming back and then with my wheelchair touching the edge of the floor of the stage I felt both myself and the actors aware of this fact when they were acting near me. However, both actors handled mishaps exceeding well with minimal notice.

As the show went on, you see the struggle Gyujin faces between letting his AI wife go or holding on to this new version of her, just to keep that little bit of her alive with him. The conflict is felt through his solo of ‘You, yet not you’ before making his final decision.

The show which had highs and lows throughout left me with so many questions in the end. Would I bring a loved one back if I could? If you do bring a loved one back can it ever be the same? And if you do bring them back and have to say goodbye again, will the grieving process be too hard to handle a second time around or will it ease that pain?

The world of AI is something that is everywhere these days and the idea that a loved one could be brought back, whilst at the moment seems an almost ridiculous idea, it’s one that could never be dismissed… but at what cost?

Whilst AI is the centre story point of the show and many maybe thinking from this view point, the writers of You & It, Seoeun Oh andQ Lee, got me thinking more if you break something and put it back together, can it ever be the same?

I think the anatogy comes from a bowl which is a central focal point to the story. A bowl with a crack in it but once it is broken into pieces, it cannot be put back together no matter how hard either character tried. The same for their relationship, without giving too much away, at the same time the bowl breaks is the time Gyujin begins to question his decision, let AI Mina stay or disconnect the robot and discard her for life and let his grieving process begin.

The theatre itself was extremely accessible for myself as a wheelchair user. Whether a production oversight or that of the theatre, both flashing lights and dry iced were used during the performance, of which there was no notice, either by signage or announcement. As the dry ice came out exactly where the wheelchair spaces are located, and it did set a few members of the audience off coughing, I felt this was something that people need to be aware of.

Overall I really enjoyed this show, a few tweaks I feel could be made to make the audience feel more connected with the characters in the beginning but for something that I was worried if I would make it through the full 85 minutes, I was fully engaged from the first song. The cast, crew and creators have done brilliantly in bringing a show which was not created for the English stage to fruition.

You & It is now playing at the King’s Head Theatre until the 26th September 2026.

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Reviewed by Victoria-Jayne Scholes on behalf of The Theatre Flyer.