Then He Kissed Me

Contact e-mail : GouldingP@aol.com

then he kissed me

by Philip Goulding

(2m 3f minimum)

Royal Theatre Northampton 1993, Guildford SA 1994, Brighton Festival 1995, Courtyard Theatre/Soho Theatre Co, London 1996

 

Then He Kissed Me is a chillingly straightforward tale - Tina, a factory girl, discovers, a few days after her 21st birthday, that the boy she had a one-night stand with three years earlier was HIV positive. Goulding's job is to show the effect this has on the lives of those around her, and he does this movingly. Goulding has a good ear for realistic conversation and a Mike Leigh-like eye for the details of human relationships, and it is this authenticity that gives Then He Kissed Me its power: the rows and misunderstandings, the inadvertent insensitivities, the everyday ironies. By its honesty, quality of observation and lack of self-pity, Goulding's play goes further, emotionally, than many others I have seen with the same subject.

(The Stage 1996)

A provocative and appropriate love story for the 90s.

(Plays International)

Goulding's ambitious exploration.

(Time Out)

This powerful piece....A disturbing, contemporary love story. A thought-provoking, moving production.

(Radio Nene Valley)

The superb script was subtle in its approach, and full of comic nuances along with a few surprises and plenty of punches.

(Chronicle & Echo)

A sensitive examination...highly charged emotional scenes. A moving evening.

(Morning Star)

Raw dramatic power...genuinely funny scenes. Riveting.

(Camden New Journal)

Philip Goulding has approached this subject head-on. He does not preach or dictate but faces the turmoil with reality, fear and compassion and some wonderful humorous touches.

(The Stage 1993)

Biography of Philip Goulding