Laurence

Laurence is a main character in the British play All in a Row.

Character creation
The play is inspired by director Alex Oates' own experience with working with autistic children for over 10 years.

Appearance
Whereas the other characters are played by real people, Lawrence is represented by a life-size puppet, operated by puppeteer Hugh Purves. The puppet has a grey-ish skintone.

Autism
Laurence is described as "autistic, non-verbal, and occasionally violent".

Controversy
Among other things, the choice to have Laurence portrayed by an puppet rather than a real child actor drew significant controversy and sparked the Twitter hashtag #puppetgate.