Avenue Q

[karohemd]

Oh my, where to begin.
I got into town reasonably early so decided to have a drink at the Eagle first when I ran into the_elyan who was also in town to see it so we had a quick half chatting about holidays before we headed to the bustling Arts Theatre.
When I booked last week I was randomly assigned a seat in the front row (rather far to the left but still OK to see everything on stage) so I was almost in the middle of the action.
I don't want to give anything of the plot away so I'll just pass on some impressions. The fact that the puppeteers (who were also the actors) were in plain sight on stage is something that shouldn't quite work but it did and there were scenes in which I completely blanked out the actors (obv. not the three human characters) but as the_elyan said, it was also great to compare the puppets' expressions with those of the actors.
In terms of puppetry, I was particularly impressed with the puppets that required two people (one arm each) running and dancing across the rather cramped stage.

The whole thing was very enjoyable, well acted, well sung, funny, rude, thought-provoking and sad. When I wasn't laughing I had a huge grin on my face. I didn't regret one single penny of the 35 pounds I paid for the ticket.

It's on in Cambridge until the 14th, you might still be able to get a ticket. The production is still touring so they might be somewhere near you (in the UK).

PS: I want one of those singing boxes. Genius design.

Comments

[emperor]

I saw it in London a few years back, and it's great. Shame the website is flash-of-doom :(

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

There was a group outing a while back I couldn't join because I was elsewhere and then it never happened so I jumped at the chance of seeing it at my doorstep.
Yeah, that's a bit annoying.

[psychokatuk.livejournal.com]

Saw it a few years back, in London, loved it! I also found myself not noticing the puppeteers :o)

[lslaw.livejournal.com]

I am constantly impressed by what they manage to fit into that theatre. The 39 Steps must have been challenging enough, but the Avenue Q set I saw in London was immense and sprawling.

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

*nods*
It's a facade but has depth (I'd say at least three metres) and fully working doors and windows and they managed to fit a five-piece band (IIRC) behind it.

[deborah_c]

We're going on Friday, and looking forward to it. (We were in Nottingham at an I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue recording yesterday, which was also enormous fun...)

[karohemd.livejournal.com]

Oh cool. I was annoyed when I missed the recording in Cambridge for the last series.

[deborah_c]

The Cambridge one sold out insanely fast -- I believe they filled the Corn Exchange in about twenty minutes... We went to the Cheltenham recording for that series as well, so we saw four out of six :-)

Last night's was one of the best we've heard -- Marcus Brigstocke as the fourth panellist. It'll be broadcast in late June. (Of the other two, one's on a Tuesday night, when I'm busy, and the other's at Grassington, which is a bit far to go for the evening, I think...)