Broken Legs Blog

“An exploration of life at its most tender and intimate”

Anyone attending a show with the title “The Sex Lives of Puppets” probably arrives somewhat prepared for a full-frontal, filthy and funny evening of entertainment. What they might not be expecting, however, is just how emotional and moving some of these scenes can be, as puppets recount experiences taken from real interviews about some of life’s most intimate moments. Created by Mark Down and Ben Keaton, the show sees four puppeteers bring to life a whole host of scenes, each one presented as an interview to the audience, with an opening question that acts as a stimulus for the following monologue or duologue. Along the way, there will be some eye-opening tales, but for the most part, this production remains firmly the right side of tasteful, choosing to delve deeper into the characters rather than resorting to cheap adult humour.

Take couple Robin and Dmitri, for example, who open act two. Their conversation starts off with an incredibly comical retelling of the first time they tried roleplay, with Dmitri (a self-proclaimed financier with no imagination) choosing to take the role of a coffee table, which did not lead to the most romantic of evenings. This story becomes increasingly silly, until the point where the narrative switches, and Dmitri starts talking about how he lost his first wife, and how Robin was able to help him deal with his grief and learn to love again. Dmitri talks about feeling lonely, yet also overwhelmingly guilty about cheating on his deceased spouse. The audience goes from an uproar of laughter into a tense silence. It is testament to the four actors (Isobel Griffiths, Simon Scardifield, Dale Wylde and Mark Down) that the performance is able to change tone so immediately, without anything feeling forced.

Based on verbatim interviews, everything recounted here is incredibly natural, and the characters feel real – we can immediately relate to each one, we all know an egotistical Suki or a pessimistic Frannie. The performers conjure up a range of voices – they are not just controlling the puppets, they are embodying the characters themselves. There is some serious talent on display here – this isn’t just forcing puppets into different sex positions (although there is plenty of that too).

Most of the stories are told by older characters, people who have “been round the block a few times”, are comfortable with their sex lives and learned to find the humour in it. Sex is never treated with the seriousness that younger people often approach it with. Meryl and Jeremy share their own pet names for each others privates – Meryl refers to Jeremy’s todger as ‘Roger’, whilst Jeremy tells us his partner has ‘Sherwood Forest’ between her legs. Daz delivers an avant-garde soliloquy about his sex life, and Tina dreams of single beds for her and her husband, tired of being woken up every time her husband has to get up for a wee in the middle of the night. It is all heart-warming and harmless.

Yet there are still some moments of seriousness thrown in there. Clive is in the middle of organising an orgy when he receives a call from his wife who tells him that the doctor has found a lump in her breast. What follows is a story that sees the bedroom transformed from a place of fun and relaxation into a prison for his partner. It is a sobering moment amidst the extreme hilarity, and elevates the production from a mucky puppet show into something more profound. This is perhaps most notable in the case of an elderly gay couple who discuss how sex has changed for them as they have got older. Having faced extreme homophobia earlier in their lives, they still find it difficult to admit that they love each other, that their relationship is anything deeper than purely physical.

Occasionally the humour strays a bit too far into absurdity, a little too much embellishing to the underlying real-life stories, such as when one character becomes convinced she is the virgin Mary reborn, but on the whole, it remains down-to-earth. The climax of act one sees the show delve into the realms of puppet porn, which a simple description cannot hope to do justice to, it has to be seen to be truly appreciated. This is a show that will make you laugh out loud, then bring you down to earth with a bump. An exploration of life at its most tender and intimate.

Tom Morley, June 2026

For more information on how I decide on star ratings, see here: Star ratings – Broken Legs Blog

Review Round-up:

Binge Fringe: The Sex Lives of Puppets – 3* from Binge Fringe, who call the show “cheeky, salacious and quirky, without making you think too hard about what it is you’re watching”

The Guardian: The Sex Lives of Puppets – Also 3* from The Guardian, who say “these verbatim-style sketches are often candid and funny, with some emotional revelations”

2nd From Bottom: The Sex Lives of Puppets – The late John Chapman gave an excellent write-up for the show on his blog, who says “it’s not all raucous comedy – indeed there are quite a few dark moments which throw the rest of proceedings into sharp relief”