PUPPETS usually conjure friendly, cuddly childhood images of Sesame Street’s Big Bird and The Muppets’ Miss Piggy – but after a couple of hours in the audience of hit musical Avenue Q, you’ll realise just how grown up one can be.

“Everyone is a little bit racist” and “the internet was invented for porn” were just two of the key messages to take away from a night in front of a sterling cast of actors-turned-puppeteers, who whirled the audience away to Avenue Q on the seedier side of New York – away from the glitz and glamour of Broadway.

Instead you find characters such as the lovable Kate Monster and English graduate Princeton, whose romance is thwarted by big-busted Lucy The Slut; closeted homosexual puppet Rod, who’s in love with his room-mate Nicky; would-be stand-up comedian Brian and his fiancee, Japanese immigrant Christmas Eve – who works in a Chinese restaurant and live in a building supervised by one-time child TV star turned handyman Gary Coleman.

Puppets Bad Idea Bear one and two add comic relief on a brand new level as residents overspend and over-drink on their advice while firm favourite Trekkie Monster delightfully outrages with his candid revelling in pornography.

Yet between the lines of humour and entertainment lies questions on self-worth, acceptance and relationships with others as the characters struggle to hold down work, personal lives and achieve their dreams.

But you don’t have to dwell too much on that.

Rude, dirty and at times educationally pornographic, this show had us rolling, crying and squirming in our seats from start to curtains.

Avenue Q will be at the Wyvern each night until Saturday, with tickets costing between £21 and £30.50.

For more information or to book call 01793 524 481.

— ELIZABETH MACKLEY