* Ceremonial Kisses by Christine Roberts "First kiss his hand. Then whatever is taken ... is kissed." Indoctrination can have a devastating effect on the development of individual personality. In Ceremonial Kisses, the main character struggled with a range of denied emotions due to his destructive obsession with the doctrines of the Catholic church. Innovative movement, choreographed dance, and vocal representation added to the symbolic quality of the scripted text, and reflected the iconography & rituals of the church. Through a strong narrative and a production style which combined immediacy and illusion, Ceremonial Kisses explored the feelings of guilt and hypocrisy which arise when suppressed desires can no longer be controlled. In a production that mingled music, dance, colour, light, plastic arts, fantasy, surprise, burlesque, declamation and tragedy, we literally watched the workings of a tormented mind. Ceremonial Kisses premiered at the Exeter & Devon Arts Centre to sold-out houses in September 1996 and enjoyed a successful week-long run at the Hackney Empire Studio Theatre (December 1996). It was performed at the Edinburgh Festival 1997 and the Redgrave Theatre, Bristol, with some changes to personnel. playwright: Christine Roberts performers: James Barlow, Misri Dey, Shad Khan, Rube, Mike Stoneham (Alistair Ganley in 1997 tour), Ruth Way directors: Christine Roberts & Roberta Mock choreography & voice: Ruth Way & Misri Dey design/construction: Sam Shaw lighting: Debbie Tyreman promotional photography: Ken Giles production photography: Geraint Lewis Ceremonial Kisses was financially supported by Barclay’s Bank. The playtext can be read in Christine Roberts, Tormented Minds: Three Plays (Intellect Books, 2003). press quotes: "Homosexuality and the Catholic church have provided playwrights with grist for the mill since time immemorial, but Christine Roberts' new play incorporates dance and chant, plus an exciting latext confessional box, to enlightening effect... "The confessional box doubles nicely as the supermarket toilet in which the tortured husband (Alistair Ganley) goes cottaging while his wife shops for the family. He is never quite sure whether the choir of two women and one seemingly homosexual angel are his guiding light or figments of his fevered imagination... "[T]he spiralling tension finally pays off, and in the meantime a satire of Sainsburys in which 27 different types of bread and cheese are rolled off with monotone, fetishistic pleasure makes its point strongly. The lovingly detailed ritual and chants of the Catholic church conjure up their own sinister poetry too, all the more so when intercut with a McDonald's advertisement. Masochistic entertainment, but a unique mood." (Matthew Tempest, The Stage, 21 August 1997) "Lusty Juventus's show is a symbolic entertainment rather than a play in the conventional sense. Call it a collaborative ritual about a guilt-wracked, Catholic married man's obsessive need to cottage - the practice of picking up men for casual sex in toilets." (Donald Huteru, The Scotsman, 19 August 1997) "As the action got underway it was clear we were in for fine choreography, good dancing and singing, and strong acting in a well thought out and powerfully put together piece of theatre. However it is not likely to be too popular with Catholics as it draws parallels between cottaging and some of the more arcane rituals of the Catholic church... Much of the quality of this piece comes from the ambiguity of the text which can be interpreted in several ways." (ScotsGay, a bi-monthly magazine for lesbians, gay men and bisexuals. Issue 17 - August 1997) "Strong in imagery and very physical, this holds your attention and forces a reaction. There's humour and buzzing ideas ... rich confident assertive performances" (Dave Marston, Express & Echo, 26 September 1996)