Reviewed by Carolyn Cherry
When I first saw the advertisement for Avenue Q, the pictures of the puppets took me back to memories of past puppet shows I had seen, these were from the TV and not on stage, and included The Muppet Show, Sesame Street and the British show, Spitting Image. What would the show be like, I was intrigued, the idea of the puppets of course has long been used with children to help put across stories in a comfortable way, that is fun and memorable, would this be too childish for me I wondered despite being a recommended 14 plus. Could I take my child? After looking a little online it seemed soon came apparent it was not suitable for younger children as it had several adult themes. So my sister-in-law and I went along for a well-earned night out together after school summer holidays are drawing to an end.
I arrived at the Mayflower and the staff were welcoming and helpful as usual, it is a lovely venue. There are a choice of several car parks with under 10 minutes easy walking distance. I feel lucky to have this venue close by. No need to drag yourself up to London with the great selection of shows put on right here in Southampton. This time I was comfortably seated in the stalls, and sat down to view the set ahead. It was of a row of houses in Avenue Q. I then noticed that there were two TV screens on the set to above, which were used a little to help the story along too.
The bright and colourful characters came on stage, some had puppets, some not with puppets. There was a range of people represented, a good mix, some were young, old, Jewish, Japanese, black, white, good, bad, and with added monsters. The puppeteers were visible alongside their puppets, but this did not distract.
The first song covered what do I do with a BA in English and then the second song made me giggle straight away, ‘My life sucks’, the street member introduced each other and moaned about how their life sucks in an almost competitive way and showed how everyone has their own problems. The show continued with life events in the street. The themes and songs managed to cover racism, sex, drunkenness, internet porn and gay love, money, and one’s purpose.
I loved the Japanese lady named Christmas Eve (she was not a puppet) she was so funny, very animated and colourful with great characterisation of a well-educated struggling therapist with no clients (Saori Oda). Cecily Redman stuck me too as the puppeteer for both Kate Monster who was sweet and adorable young teaching assistant, and the contrasting Lucy the Slut, a singer and dancer. Cecily was very talented with a strong singing voice, and switched brilliantly between the characters as did all the cast when they swapped round. I liked the Trekkie Monster as the best made puppet, the big fluffy one but not so cute.
This was a nice surprise, not your traditional musical for sure, more fun and comedy. I thoroughly enjoyed the evening, it was both hilarious and heart-warming. I would recommend it for a good night out with friends.
Rating: 5/5
Tickets cost from £19.50 to £34.50 (booking fees may apply).
Avenue Q is at the Mayflower Theatre in Southampton from 27-31 August 2019, for more information or to book tickets visit www.mayflower.org.uk or call the box office on 02380 711811.
Mayflower Theatre, Commercial Road, Southampton, SO15 1GE | 02380 711811
