Spiralling debts, useless degrees and porn addiction… this is no Sesame Street, this is Avenue Q, the ruthlessly funny, incredibly adult musical performed at the MMC Centre in Loughborough by amateur group ‘Your Chance Productions’.
The musical centres around Princeton (Richard Kish), a young graduate who struggles to find work and is seeking a greater purpose in life, and his blossoming romance with Kate Monster (Emma Barnes-Marriott, whose voice was a perfect imitation of the Broadway cast recording). Both characters are portrayed by puppets (as are the majority of characters in this musical), and the actors were incredibly skilled at bringing their puppets to life – at times, I would frequently find myself focusing on the puppets rather than the puppeteers. This puppet show is definitely not for kids though – the characters find themselves in increasingly post-watershed scenarios.
Princeton is led astray by cabaret performer Lucy The Slut (Max Eaglefield). Lucy exists to distract – Eaglefield’s entrances are accompanied by cymbals that mimic her provocative strut, and her excellent vocals in “Special” earned her huge applause from the crowd.
Throughout the play, various songs provide incredibly funny moments – “The internet is for porn” sees local pervert Trekkie Monster (Darrel Parker, whose voice was made for this part) try to convince the others of the hidden benefits of the worldwide web, and “Schadenfreude” sees Gary Coleman (the ex-child-TV-star played by Gem Blake) try to explain how good it feels to watch others fail. The songs are perfect comedic skits but do little to advance the plot, although this is not a bad thing.
Warring couple Brian (Martin Weston) and Christmas Eve (Chantelle Ruston) get into an argument over race in the song “Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist”, which left me feeling a little uncomfortable given the fact that the cast did not properly represent the ethnicity of the characters (Christmas Eve is meant to be Japanese, whilst Gary is meant to be black). This did not go unnoticed by the actors, who gave cheeky shrugs to the audience when delivering some of their lines, although it is a shame that the cast was not more diverse.
Alongside the main plotline of Princeton and Kate, sexuality is explored via closeted homosexual Rod (Thomas Levi), who is attracted to his straight flatmate Nicky (Graham Buchanan). Both Levi and Buchanan lit up the stage with their clashing personalities, with Nicky accidentally winding Rod up without his realising. There was truly some excellent puppetry skills on display here, as Rod is left practically shaking with anger at Nicky’s laidback attitude.
The set is over multiple levels, with characters leaning out of upstairs windows, or appearing on a balcony overlooking the street below. The walls of the various houses rotate or open to reveal different rooms within the houses, and also a bar, where the Bad Idea Bears (Graham Buchanan and Phillippa Buchanan) manipulate Princeton and Kate into playing drinking games. This was an exceptional set for an amateur production, mirroring the high quality acting on display.
A few too many blackouts slows things down a little, but overall this show provides non-stop laughs throughout. The energy from the incredibly talented cast makes this a joy to watch – go and see it, you will not be disappointed!
Tom Morley, June 2024
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