An interesting title, and an even more interesting show. Brought to the stage by Blind Summit Theatre, the play does exactly what the title suggests, it gives an insight into the private lives of a selection of puppets which sounds a wee bit twee, but this play is anything but twee! The puppets are not string puppets but hand-held puppets, which I assume would make them easier to manipulate for the subject of the show. The puppeteers use a table to sit the puppets down and the rest is down to the script and the puppeteers’ imagination.
The puppets are all human puppets whose characters are brought to life by their handlers, they discuss subjects such as sexual wellbeing, what they like to name their genitals, nursing home sex, lesbian sex and many more. The fun thing about this, is that there are eight sets of puppets, not including the last scene, and each one has a completely different character and experience, no two scenes are the same, so it never gets tired, and the four puppeteers take turns in who will speak and who will manipulate the puppet. Right from the off the married couple give us an hilarious revealing look into their sex life, having been married for some years, they enlighten the audience as to how they keep things fresh within their marriage.
The range of different characters shows the versatility of the puppeteers interchanging between puppets, but the skill in making the puppets is fabulous. I am not sure whether the script is written and then the puppets made, or whether the puppets are made and then the script fits around the puppets, but however this works, this is a wonderful thing.
Just a warning, the title of the show does reflect that there is a lot of sexual content in there, and children may be shocked to hear what puppets get up to, so this is not for them, but for anyone who loves comedy and puppets, this is a must!
The show runs until the end of the fringe so you can book until the 25th August 2024 (not the 14th). The ticket link is here – https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/sex-lives-of-puppets.
Reviewer: Caroline Worswick
Reviewed: 6th August 2024
North West End UK Rating: