Glenn & Flenn were the stars of a kid’s TV puppet show that has unfortunately fallen into obscurity. Both puppets and actors have been trapped in the studio and time has not been kind to them. Years of disuse made the puppets moldy and rotten, and the puppeteers might just be going insane. It’s a wonderfully strange idea and writer and director Frederik Bang’s script has a good build up to the finale and lots of hilarious and lovelifying humour. The Glenn & Flenn jingle and fun little songs particularly stand out and really pull the audience into this world, keeping everyone engaged throughout the show.
The puppetry unfortunately did not work. Eyelines are not working on the construction side, there’ some odd choices like hiding the puppet being one’s back although the audience can clearly see it, and an overall lack of technical puppeteering skills. All of this leads to the puppets never coming fully alive. There’s lots of great puppetry ideas in the show, but not enough technique to support them.
Still, it’s easy to overlook that thanks to the acting. Magnus Kelly (playing Glenn & Flenn) in particular brings lots of great energy and an impressive amount of stamina to his roles. It’s evident that the entire cast and creatives put their all into this show by just how much heart it has. This is a grassroots theatre company and a very Fringey, whacky show – Martyr Theatre know this and they fully stand behind and defend it. That in itself is so nice to see!
There are certainly some kinks that need ironed out to get this show to where it could go. As it is though, Glenn & Flenn is already laugh-out-loud funny, slightly terrifying, even a little heartbreaking, and a very enjoyable night out.
Reviewer: Christina Schmidt
Reviewed: 28th August 2026
North West End UK / Theatre Muse UK Rating:
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