REVIEW: THE SMILE OF HER @ MARYLEBONE THEATRE

🎭 The Smile of Her

📍 Marylebone Theatre, 35 Park Road, London NW1 6XT

🗓 Thursday 16th July 2026

⭐️ 2 Stars

A CLINICAL LOOK AT A LIVED TRUTH

Getting across London on a sweltering summer evening is always a test of endurance, but cramming onto a hot, packed Bakerloo line train really takes it out of you. By the time I arrived at the Marylebone Theatre last night, I was more than ready for a seat and some cool air. I certainly got what I wished for. Taking my seat at the front, I found myself directly next to a massive, roaring air conditioning unit. It was absolutely freezing, practically blowing people clean out of their seats! Mercifully, the team switched it off just as the house lights went down and the performance began.

Whenever a production is new to me, I love to go in completely blind, which is exactly what I did with THE SMILE OF HER. The show is an autobiographical solo piece based on the life and memories of Academy Award-winner Christine Lahti. Structured into three acts, the narrative traces her journey from growing up in 1950s suburban America, through her college years, and deep into her adulthood and Hollywood career. It is designed as a cathartic examination of childhood trauma, family dynamics, and the heavy expectations placed on women by a patriarchal society.

On paper, this sounds like a powerful, poignant, and deeply moving dive into one person's traumatic life. In reality, it turned out to be something very different.

I was genuinely surprised to learn after the show that this was actually Christine Lahti's own story, written by herself. That is because I felt there was zero emotion coming from the stage. Sat right at the front, with Lahti directly in front of me, I got absolutely no emotional resonance from her whatsoever. Instead, it felt like watching an actor mechanically reciting a script. I struggled to believe anything she was saying. At points where the character was crying, there were simply no tears. It is completely baffling how such a deeply personal story felt so clinical, delivered in a flat, monotone way. As the narrative touched on harrowing topics - including sexual abuse, domestic violence, and suicide - the lack of compassion or visible feeling in the delivery became increasingly frustrating.

Worse still, I spent a good portion of the evening trying to wrap my head around the bizarre pacing elements and the way the lines were being delivered. The emphasis always seemed to be placed on completely the wrong words, disrupting the natural rhythm of the speech. I honestly couldn’t work out if this jarred phrasing was a deliberate choice by the director, or if the play was just severely under-rehearsed.

While the premise had immense potential for strong, impactful female theatre, the writing itself felt remarkably poor. The dialogue frequently fell back on predictable tropes rather than exposing the raw truth of the experience. Though I tried to stay engaged, I had completely checked out mentally before the end of Act 1. The inclusion of a younger version of Christine - referred to as "Girl" -worked reasonably well during the childhood flashbacks of the first act. However, as the play progressed, her continued presence felt bizarre and misplaced. What began as a narrative tool quickly started to feel like a gimmick that added nothing to the emotional weight.

There were occasional chuckles from a very generous audience, but these moments felt like people laughing because they felt they should, rather than out of genuine amusement. I didn’t laugh once, and neither did anyone sitting around me. The sound design was also a bit of a mixed bag. While the atmospheric audio worked fine most of the time, the choice to play a loud, literal "mooing" sound effect the exact moment a cow was mentioned felt entirely unnecessary. We all know what a cow sounds like. It bordered on the juvenile at times.

The undeniable highlight of the production was the excellent lighting design. The way the lighting framed the stage was visually stunning, and frankly, it did all the heavy lifting when it came to injecting any semblance of mood or emotion into the performance.

There seems to be a bit of a run lately of shows that have a prime opportunity to showcase powerful female perspectives, yet completely miss the mark. I cannot hide how disappointing this show was. When someone is telling their own lived truth on stage, you expect a profound sense of honesty, but this missed that vital spark. I was honestly gobsmacked how someone could tell their own truth in such an ineffective way. It is a real shame, as a story this brave deserved a far more impactful delivery.

Of course, all this is just my experience of the play on the night I attended. If you want to make up your own mind, then THE SMILE OF HER continues performances at Marylebone Theatre until Saturday 29th August. CLICK HERE for more information and to book tickets.

Neill Kovacic-Clarke

All views are my own and I pride myself on being honest, fair and free from influence. Theatre is subjective and it is important to remember that all views expressed are just those of one reviewer.  

My ticket for this performance of The Smile of Her was gifted by ANRPR who invited me to watch the show in exchange for my honest review. The fact that my ticket was gifted played no part in the content of my review or the star rating given. 

CAST:

Christine Lahti as Christine

The role of Girl is shared by Isabella Ford and Jesamine-Bleu Gibbs

RUNNING TIME (approx):

1 hour 20 minutes, with no interval

CONTENT WARNINGS:

References to sexual assult, rape, mental illness, suicide, drug abuse, and domestic violence

AGE RECOMMENDATION:

12+

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