Showing @ King’s Theatre, Edinburgh, until Sat 14 Jun @ times vary
This March saw the release of Muppets Most Wanted, the second instalment in the cinematically rebooted Muppets franchise. But Kermit and Miss Piggy are not the only popular legacy of Jim Henson. Originally opening in 2003, Avenue Q took inspiration from Henson’s colourful characters but swapped their whimsical jollity for depression and depravity.
After graduating from college Princeton moves into Avenue Q, a neighbourly (if run down) street in New York and makes friends with the of the rest of the residence. He soon sets about trying to find some purpose to his life but the boyfriend-less Kate Monster proves to be a bit of a distraction.
Technically the performers are outstanding, frenziedly switching between various puppets but not distracting away from their handheld characters. Instead they input their personalities onto them; their faces mimicking the emotions of those they manipulate or strutting on behalf of their legless sidekicks. Their voices too, both character and singing, sound so clean they could have been pre-recorded.
The Muppets are so iconic that even those who weren’t avid fans will be aware of the show. Avenue Q creators Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez use this notoriety to their advantage by taking the recognition of the bright colours and silly voices as children’s entertainment and juxtaposing it against adult themes. This jarring of styles is the catalyst for much of the frequent hilarity and the songs especially, their inoffensive schmaltzy tunes layered with lyrics like ‘Grab your dick and double click’ (about internet pornography), are some of the evening’s highlights.
However, when the narrative drops its pseudo-moralistic elements and becomes pure bawdiness, the one-dimensional schoolboy humour is soon wearisome – particularly the depiction of various sexual positions. Without the various contemporary issues – racism, homosexuality, poverty – keeping the narrative relevant to modern audiences, what’s left is a show that’s no longer as edgy and unique as it once was, and a style of storytelling that’s beginning to show its age.