"TOUCH but my lips with those fair lips of thine" - thus Venus beseeches Adonis in Shakespeare's sensuous and voluptuous theme.

The Other Place was host to an hour of magic in this masque for puppets. The beautifully crafted proscenium was an ever-changing peep-show of delights, deliciously lit and sympathetically accompanied by Nicholas Lee's sweetly played guitar.

These large puppets were not the jerky wooden-looking creatures of our youth, whose strings were always tangled. These multi-person-controlled beings breathed life and lust from the start.

Venus was the sexiest puppet of all time. Forget Lady Penelope - this was an all-woman creation whose every movement oozed passion, despair, lust love, deep sadness - surely she can't be made of wood?

Adonis, as the haughty hunter, had such a distinctly different character. Every line of his body was totally male: 'love? No. We'd rather be hunting with the lads'. He hadn't time for ardour, making Venus more eager, causing her passion to overflow from rejection.

This is a magical performance, elegantly read by Michael Pennington, whose smooth voice is never intrusive and carries the story along to its sad conclusion.

The teamwork in this performance is masterly - puppeteers, narrator and musician had such rapport that we were never aware that this was an illusion. Don't miss Venus and Adonis, which runs until December 18.

Review by MARTIN SMITH