Review: Avenue Q At Wyndham’s Theatre
Published on Friday 3rd September, 1.55pm, Written by Mike Shaw
After shocking and delighting the West End for more than five years, Avenue Q is closing.
Of course, it has ‘closed’ before, only to be swiftly reopened in a new home – but this time it looks like it’s really going to happen, so it’s time for a tribute review to the funniest show on the West End.
The show is famous as being ‘the one with the swearing puppets’ but it’s much more than that.
Cassidy Janson in Avenue Q, playing Lucy the Slut.
Avenue Q tells the story of Princeton, an unemployed graduate who is searching for his purpose in life and who moves to a run-down area – the only place he can afford. He falls in love with neighbour Kate Monster, a kindergarten teacher who wants to open her own school, and makes friends with the various other characters who live on the eponymous street.
The mixture of human and puppet characters is different to what you may have experience before. The actors controlling the puppets aren’t hidden from view, in fact they are very much meant to be seen. Watching the actors is just as entertaining as watching the puppets and being able to see their faces gives the rudimentary features of the puppets more life. After a while the two merge together and flicking between actor and puppet becomes second nature – sort of like watching a subtitled film. When the actor smiles, the character on their hand is smiling too.
Don’t expect a marionette masterclass though, or flawless ventriloquism for that matter – for the most part, Avenue Q’s puppetry is the kind of thing you’re able to do at home with a threadbare sock. But it doesn’t matter – the lack of “artful” puppetry is not to the show’s detriment and the style presented here will be familiar to anyone who grew up with The Muppet Show or Sesame Street.
There are characters who are visual parodies of Miss Piggy and Bert and Ernie, while Trekkie Monster sounds like the Cookie Monster while looking like Animal from The Muppets after a year-long steroid bender.
The hat tips to Jim Henson don’t end with the puppets though, and there are some very funny Sesame Street-style interludes displayed on screens in between scenes, that draw some of the biggest belly laughs of the show.
And there are a lot of laughs. Go prepared for broad, not-particularly-subtle humour, and you won’t be disappointed. Despite the hype, Avenue Q is not as subversive as it would like you to believe. It’s certainly ruder and more cutting than almost anything else that has found a home in the West End, but overall it’s about as risqué as an episode of How I Met Your Mother. That’s not a criticism, just a reassurance to anyone who may have been put off by the ‘Most Offensive Show Ever’ hyperbole.
Like a friendly American sitcom, beneath the gags there’s a moral. Look past the songs about porn, racism and closeted homosexuality, and Avenue Q has a message; friendship, togetherness and helping others are more important that where you live or what you do.
The cast are excellent across the board, but Rachel Jerram and Tom Parsons, who play Trekkie Monster, Nicky and The Bad Idea Bears, deserve a special mention. Of everyone onstage, they seem to be enjoying themselves the most, and it comes through in their performances. Also, Delroy Atkinson, who plays Gary Coleman (who should surely be changed for another has-been celebrity if/when the show is revived) has a wonderful voice and it’s a joy every time he sings, even when signing about the kind of stuff you wouldn’t want your mum to know you know about….
It’s a shame that Avenue Q is leaving the West End; there aren’t enough reliable comedies out there. Besides, Mark Kermode hated it, which is more than enough of a reason to keep it alive.
The musical closes on October 30, so if you want to see it, book Avenue Q tickets before it’s too late.
