A Matter of Life and Death

It is 1945. A young airman jumps to certain death from his burning aircraft. His last words are to a girl he has never met: "I love you June. You are life and I am leaving you"

Following an angelic blunder, caused by a classic English pea-souper, Peter Carter miraculously survives and finds June in the flesh. But, things are not so simple! To stay alive, Peter is forced to take himself, and the heavens to the Universal Court of Appeal.

'Rice's production is a vigorous human celebration of the triumph of mind over matter, love over war and life over death. A joyfully theatrical night.'

The Daily Mail

2007 sees Kneehigh on the Olivier stage at the National Theatre in a new adaptation of this much loved war movie by Powell and Pressburger. This is simply the largest and most ambitious indoor production that Kneehigh has tackled in its 26 year history. With a cast of 5 musicians and 22 actors and dancers and a strong team of Kneehigh regulars, this promises to be a project of epic proportions. A love story set against the backdrop of the Second World War. Romantic, surreal and poignantly funny, this is one of the most exciting projects Kneehigh have ever attempted.

'Kneehigh's ingenious adaptation. It is a phenomenal achievement. To flood the huge Olivier stage with a dream. To take one of the most revered movies and make of it something richer and darker. The vitality of the pictures that seize the stage makes it impossible to repine. It's a characteristic Kneehigh mix of the humdrum and the mystical. It's the mixture of modes that makes this distinguished. Large and beautiful.'

The Observer