Jim Henson’s company really needs no introduction. From the Muppets to Sesame Street they have dominated children’s television with their hilarious and zany characters for around fifty years.
Now, a handful of the company’s puppeteers, including Jim Henson’s son, have decided to perform at the Fringe for the first time. In the evening they perform an adult version of the show and during the day there is a watered down edition for the children.
Guaranteeing a completely different production every night, the puppet ‘improv’ team take suggestions from the children in the audience and incorporate them into a host of games, songs and scenarios. For those sceptical that the same subjects must come up constantly, the group actively refuse suggestions that they have already heard before.
What needs to be addressed here is just what delirious fun this show is. The puppets themselves are all wonderfully insane, from big cumbersome cavemen right through to a dancing troupe of hotdogs, they will have you giggling long before the scenes have even begun. Everyone’s favourite surely has to be ‘Piddles’ an unimaginably cute little dog in a nappy that is crying out for his own solo show.
Despite all the fun what is never forgotten is that this is a show for the kids and all of their suggestions, no matter how out there they might be, are treated with care and respect. The crew boldly construct scenes around for suggestions such as Underpants Man, a superhero who is given the special power of licking people who haven’t had showers. Instantly they accept the suggestions and begin to create a hysterical scene for the audience.
Twisted, insane and utterly loveable, this show is nothing short of perfect.
5/5
Martin Miller
