Avenue Q is at the New Theatre, Oxford, until Saturday, August 16
To book, visit atgtickets.com/oxford or call 0844 871 3020

THOSE of you who have heard of Avenue Q will immediately think two things: puppets and rude.

And yes – it is rude. There’s swearing, full frontal puppet nudity, raunchy sex and songs such as Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist and The Internet Is for Porn.

But sniggering aside, Avenue Q is actually full of warmth and hope and centres around a love story between two of the puppets and their dreams of a better world.

Recent graduate Princeton moves into Avenue Q, the only neighbourhood he can afford, and meets a colourful array of neighbours such as Brian and Christmas Eve (both humans) and the closeted homosexual Rod, who is secretly in love with his roommate Nicky. Among them is primary school teaching assistant Kate Monster, with whom he begins a relationship – although the course of true love does not run smooth.

What is astounding is the actors and their puppets become one so you actually stop noticing the people and really start to believe in the puppets.

This Tony award winning show, which is packed with songs, draws much from Sesame Street and the Muppets and even though I’ve never been a fan of either, I loved Avenue Q.

Special mention must go to understudy Emily-Jane Morris who played Kate Monster and Lucy the Slut on opening night, who had an incredible voice.

Irreverent, smart and kind-hearted, Avenue Q will have you smiling, sniggering and toe tapping all the way through. It’s suitable for mid-teens upwards so you can take the family – if watching puppet sex with your kids doesn’t make you blush.