Tickets were gifted in return for an honest review
Guess How Much I Love You? is a brand-new play making its world premiere at the Royal Court Theatre as part of the venue’s 70th anniversary season, and it feels like exactly the kind of intimate, emotionally honest work the Court does best. Despite sharing a title with the beloved children’s book, this is very much not an adaptation. Instead, Luke Norris gives us a contemporary drama that quietly devastates, unfolding almost entirely within the confines of a hospital room.
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| Rosie Sheehy and Robert Aramayo. Photo by Johan Persson. |
Written absolutely brilliantly by Norris, the play captures the essence of reality and truth, enveloping us in what becomes a couple’s worst nightmare. The story follows an expectant couple as they wait for their 20-week scan, a moment that should be filled with excitement and certainty, only for the future they had carefully imagined to begin slipping through their fingers. Norris has an extraordinary ability to write the unsayable which makes the experience feel less like watching a play and more like bearing witness to something deeply private.
The performances from Rosie Sheehy and Robert Aramayo are earnest and compelling, with both actors pulling the very best out of each other in every scene. Their chemistry feels lived-in rather than performed, and there’s a tenderness to their exchanges that makes the unraveling of their shared world all the more heartbreaking. Neither performance ever reaches for melodrama; instead, they allow the weight of the situation to sit naturally, trusting the writing and each other completely.
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| Robert Aramayo and Rosie Sheehy. Photo by Johan Persson. |
The framing of the piece takes us through a series of poignant moments, separated by blackouts that gently but firmly move us through time. Interestingly, this same structural device was used in a comedy I saw just last week, which only highlights how versatile and powerful the technique can be. Here, each blackout lands like a breath you didn’t realise you were holding, marking emotional shifts rather than plot beats and allowing the audience to process what’s just unfolded before being taken somewhere new. The direction from Jeremy Herrin is clear and concise in every scene.
Lena Kaur provides relief from the story right in the middle of the arc, giving us the opportunity to remember how the play exists outside of the two characters; only making the reality more devastating. Kaur makes the best with the short scene that she’s given and uses silence on occasion in the best possible ways: a reminder that sometimes what isn’t said carries the most weight.
Lighting by Jessica Hung Han Yun plays a particularly striking role, especially within the hospital setting. It’s used not just to define space, but to subtly reflect the emotional light and darkness the characters are experiencing, heightening moments of hope and dread without ever becoming intrusive. It’s simple, precise, and incredibly effective.
Guess How Much I Love You? is a powerful exploration of love, hope, impossible choices, and the resilience of human relationships when life’s certainties fall away. You can catch the show at the Royal Court Theatre until 21 February 2026.
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Tickets for Guess How Much I Love You? are available from https://royalcourttheatre.com/events/guess-how-much-i-love-you/
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| Rosie Sheehy and Robert Aramayo. Photo by Johan Persson. |
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