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Phil Hopkins
Group Travel Editor & Theatre Correspondent
@philhopkinsuk
10:10 AM 18th July 2012
arts

Avenue Q - The Muppets on Speed!

 
Princeton with Sam Lupton, Kate Monster with Katharine Moraz
Princeton with Sam Lupton, Kate Monster with Katharine Moraz
Take seven boxes of egg shells, scatter them on the floor and hire a group of monsters to crush them into small pieces, and you will have the most politically incorrect show to tour the regions for a decade.

Avenue Q, somewhere between The Muppets and Sesame Street, is a breath of fresh air in a politically stifled climate, and one of the most enjoyable pieces of theatre I have seen for many a year.

Last night the Grand Theatre audience in Leeds whistled, jeered, applauded and guffawed as the politically correct lobby were tossed aside, amid references to gays, sex and Jesus, by puppets whose expletives would have made grandma's hair curl without a pair of tongs.

And there wasn't a member of the thought police in sight because you can't sue the Trekkie Monster or Lucy the Slut, once they're back in their boxes! In the same tradition as Punch & Judy - originally used to satirise politicians and power brokers who were untouchable by the law - so Avenue Q sets out to challenge all the stereotypes that we have become reluctant or unable to discuss, for fear of persecution by everyone around us.

It is witty, funny, beautifully directed, vibrant and, well......just plain daft! Big monsters, small monsters, gay puppets and two bears, who continually urge the leading man (sorry puppet) to push for sex and even hang himself, leave you p*****g your pants. Sorry, I am just too conditioned to use the word in full!

Having entertained audiences in the West End for nearly five years, Avenue Q, from the pens of Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx, became an instant Broadway hit when it first opened in 2003.

Not only is it mischievous and irreverent, but the script is wise beyond its nine years - 'In a volatile market the only stable investment is porn', thoughtful -'What do you do with a BA in English?' and beautifully clear when it comes to sorting out religious differences - 'Jesus was black, Jesus was white, Jesus was Jewish!'

Avenue Q is a show that lifts your spirits, makes you laugh and touches the heart strings. It is full of pathos, energy and a hard working cast who, by and large, you fail to see until they take their bow at the end, and that's because the characters at the ends of their arms are so believable.

It's a while since I have wanted to give a puppet a standing ovation but, last night, I nearly made a fool of myself until I took a grip and realised that any lawyer worth his salt, will get straight onto the Director of Public Prosecutions and get this lot sorted out. It shouldn't be allowed.

Runs until Saturday 21st July 7.30pm