I Love You You're Perfect Now Change

Joe DiPietro, Jimmy Roberts

1974 Productions & Make Your Mark Productions

Hope Mill Theatre

July 15-19, 2025

Angela Grady, Dalia Kay, Kit Phillips and Paul Humphreys in I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change at Hope Mill Theatre, Manchester

From the first date to the final chapter in a chapel of rest, or alternative sittings, this series of relationship vignettes is a hymn to the Jewish sense of humour. With food, sex and self deprecation, what’s not to like?

Writer Joe DiPietro won awards for the show in 1997, and perhaps its age is showing a little in the depiction of traditional attitudes to love, sex and marriage. Though perhaps not...

The four actors are able to make you see their lives and inner feelings with not only good acting but good singing. Dalia Kay stands out for her eloquent features and great voice. She is able to imbue even the most banal of lyrics - and there are a few - with intense emotion. To watch her, silently listening to one of her co-stars, is to see how to portray emotion through face and body movement.

Kit Phillips is a bundle of energy and action. Even when sitting, you feel he is about to launch on an emotional journey with little idea of where it may lead. Paul Humphreys, the older member of the quartet, is a bit of a slow burner. Only when he is able to dominate the show as a mad, murderous, prisoner do we see his real abilities. And finally Angela Grady, all self pity, wondrous in lilac satin, sings a torch song like it was written for her.

The music - for this is a musical - is worth the price of admission on its own; in fact it would be worthwhile going just to listen to the trio play soft jazz for a full performance. Musical director Gemma Price should be proud of her work.

It’s hard not to share the jokes, but this would be to spoil some of the pleasure. There's a good one about how lawyers have found a new way to make money - though this indicates the American genesis of the play.

More info and tickets here