It Might Suck Being Me... But Avenue Q Sure was Funny! A review of an assisted performance of the hit West End musical

When I first heard about Avenue Q I was intrigued. Someone described it as a bit like an adult Sesame Street and I mean you’d have to be mad not to find that interesting. Puppets having sex on stage, issues of race, homelessness and homosexuality. All this is packed into two brilliant acts.

At first, it didn’t look like I’d ever find out how two puppets managed to get down to it on stage because we couldn’t find the theatre. I’m totally blind and my mate doesn’t know London that well so it really was a case of the blind leading the blind. Eventually we stopped at a pub to get some directions. The barman was foreign and didn’t have a clue what we meant, but we had a drink so it wasn’t all bad. We found the Noël Coward Theatre practically next door to the pub. When we got inside, we joined a touch tour. This is designed specifically for disabled people, particularly those with a visual impairment. The tour allows you to feel the different costumes as well as other props. At the end of the tour, each member of the cast described their character's appearance and personal traits. I found this really helpful both as a blind person and just as someone wanting a good understanding of the characters before the play kicked off. I have attended several other touch tours but this was the first that used puppets and it was interesting to discover exactly how they were operated.

At a glance it would seem that Avenue Q has a fairly simple plot. Basically the story follows Princeton, a young bloke who’s just left university with a BA in English. He has no idea what to do now; he can’t find somewhere to live and even if he did he couldn’t pay the rent because he doesn’t have a job. He’s pretty much an outcast, so it’s lucky he winds up living on Avenue Q. A street populated by people struggling to come to terms with their sexuality, Avenue Q boasts, amongst others, a connoisseur of pornography and a teacher that happens to be a monster. Chuck into the mix a bad therapist and a failed children’s TV host and hotch-potch street takes on the appearance of a TV soap brought to the stage.

Avenue Q was an assisted performance. This means it was accompanied by a descriptive track. A headset is used to relay the description and it meant that I could follow the action perfectly. The majority of the humour was delivered through the dialogue but the AD was really helpful because it gave me an understanding of the more visual aspects of the performance such as the dancing. The AD was perfectly timed not to overrun what the actors were saying. AD works by using a trained describer to tell members of the audience who are wearing a radio headset what actors are doing. The describer is your eyes. Often there will be two describers, one for each act. AD is not available with every performance. Generally theatres aim to have at least two performances with AD per play run.

One of the most surprising aspects of Avenue Q is the upfront way in which it deals with racial slurs and stereotyping. Pretty bawdy comments are made about character's ethnic backgrounds and the whole thing zings along with a kind of “He didn't just say that did he!?” twittering. None of this is in any way tasteless as it’s designed to bring across a message. So don’t go thinking you’re paying to see Bernard Manning brought back to life or something, it’s not like that. The problems of the homeless are also raised. We see a homeless person being ignored, then the point is driven home when one of the main characters finds himself thrown out on the streets. Not that such grave matters entered my head when I was watching the show. I was too busy laughing at what was going on. I don’t want to give too much away but 'Lucy the Slut' is called that for a reason and if you’ve got any spare cash make sure you invest it in the only stable industry. Only on our way home through the rain and the seemingly endless train stops did my friend and I work out that if you read between the lines Avenue Q’s got so much more to offer than just a good comedy. The laughs stay in your head but so do the messages behind them.

Published by: Harry Luckhurst