Kissing Swinburne: guilty pleasure

This condensed and selective bio piece about English bawdy poet Algernon Swinburne is a theatrical delight full of surprises, imaginative puppetry, and authentic tenderness.

Focusing on his troubled and backwards-looking love life, Kissing Swinburne presented by Lady Trevelyan’s Circle manages to turn the sometimes yawn-worthy world of English poets into a guilty pleasure. When thinking of how one might treat the life of a bohemian bisexual and lovelorn pervert, a live action-puppetry hybrid format does not immediately spring to mind, however consummate performers Claire Frances Muir, Mark Huisman, and Mary Krohnert make the almost contradictory content and style of the show work with ease and charm. Truly unique and heartily entertaining.

Kissing Swinburne, part of this year's Toronto Fringe Festival, continues until July 11th. For more information kiss this.