Kiss Them All Soundly

Kiss Them All Soundly, by Jason Kavanagh of Five Pound Theatre, although original and engaging, doesn't quite know what it's doing. There is a lot to like, notably some superb acting, but the piece suffers from a lack of clarity re the ideas underpinning the play. The most satisfying part is the developing relationship between the old man, George (Kiwi actor Peter Rowley, who is outstanding) and the schoolgirl, Alice (another kiwi, Brooke Smith Harris), because the characters themselves are given a journey to go on, whereas the rest of the play is about backstory unfolding. Nursery rhymes are used as a device to hinge the stories on and around but there is a tenous link at best between the rhymes and what's happening on stage, which makes for a problematic pretentiousness. The tale of mental illness doesn't quite ring true because of the character's unclear pathology, although there are some amusing moments that play out in this part. Staging, especially lighting design, is very nicely done. Kavanagh admits he wrote this play ten years ago and there is a definite naivete about it. However, apart from some early clunkiness in the opening speech (sheep come in flocks, not herds, for example), there is a distinctive voice at work here that is well worth encouraging.