Or You Could Kiss Me, National Theatre

Or You Could Kiss Me, National Theatre | reviews, news & interviews

Or You Could Kiss Me, National Theatre

Puppet play looks forward, and back, in latest from the War Horse team

by Matt WolfWednesday, 06 October 2010

Puppetry of love, loss, and infirmity co-starring Handspring's Basil Jones in the fleshSimon Annand

Theatrical conceits, much like London buses, seem these days to come in threes. Or so it is suggested by the Neil Bartlett/Handspring collaboration Or You Could Kiss Me, the third Cottesloe production this year to peer into the future, albeit only as far as 2036, whereas Mike Bartlett's Earthquakes in London leapt forward to 2525. (Completing the trifecta: Tamsin Oglesby's Really Old, Like Forty Five, set a comparatively imminent 40 years ahead.) And while Oglesby's play featured a robotic nurse, this latest opening puts some very singular puppets centre-stage, alongside a vision of infirmity that could not be either more human - or humane.

Puppets are seen swimming and even snogging: clearly, we're quite some way from War Horse

Buy

Book tickets for Or You Could Kiss Me on the National Theatre website

Explore topics

Share this article

The future of Arts Journalism

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

more Theatre

Second Best, Riverside Studios review - Asa Butterfield brings the magic Martin is not Harry Potter in the movies, then might be in real life, but proves to be the boy who survived

Mrs President, Charing Cross Theatre review - Mary Todd Lincoln on her life alone Curious play that fails to mobilise theatre's unique ability to tell a story

… Blackbird Hour, Bush Theatre review - an unrelentingly tough watch New play about mental breakdown is a mix of acute distress and poetic writing

Play On!, Lyric Hammersmith review - and give me excess of it! Super performances deliver magnificent entertainment

Inside No 9: Stage Fright, Wyndham’s review - uneven fright-night from the fêted duo Still inventive and fun but short on sharp shocks

Cymbeline, Sam Wanamaker Playhouse review - pagan women fight the good fight A new, if not as radical as once it were, take on Shakespeare's cross-dressing call to arms

An Interrogation, Hampstead Theatre review - police procedural based on true crime tale fails to ring true Rosie Sheehy and Jamie Ballard shine in Edinburgh Festival import

The Lonely Londoners, Kiln Theatre review - Windrush Generation arrive in a London full of opportunities, but not for them Memories, frustrations and hopes in a city emerging from post-war austerity

Kyoto, Soho Place Theatre - blistering, darkly witty play raises more questions than it answers The script turns dry-as-dust diplomatic detail into nothing less than an adrenaline sport

A Good House, Royal Court review - provocative, but imperfect South African satire about racism, sexism, home ownership and community politics

Oliver!, Gielgud Theatre review - Lionel Bart's 1960 masterpiece is Bourne again An intimate staging and superb casting make this a superior West End production

The Maids, Jermyn Street Theatre review - new broom sweeps clean in fierce revival Class, in its 21st century manifestation, colours much performed play

Follow @theartsdesk