The Meeples: XXX continues at Lime Studio at Greenside @ George Street until 29 August (except 23, 24).
Star rating: four stars ★ ★ ★ ★ ✩
The world’s most famous puppets have lost their funding, been kicked off TV and are now being hunted down by ICE agents.
Desperately broke, Missy LePig, handled by Peyton Conley, throws a filthy, foul-mouthed drug-filled cabaret at her club (his human character is pretty foul-mouthed too) so that everyone can drown in a bacchanalian soup before ICE does it for them. Sex, bums, legs, profanity, violence are the order of the day.
Enter the voice of reason, Sherbert the Frog (you know who he is), expertly handled by Spencer Lail who attempts to bring a bit of sanity to the whole proceedings, aided by the sympathetic Gozer (Trevor Poli).
There are a helluva lot of people on a fairly small stage (14 actors plus a band of six, including MD and arranger Manny Vidales) and they’re all working their socks off. Helpfully, the main action goes on at the front of the stage, although sometimes it’s a little difficult to maintain focus, there are so many interesting things going on in the background.
The puppetry is great, and some of the voices nail the originals to a T.
It’s mayhem, which seems to be the point of the show, perhaps matching the state of the world (or at least America from what we hear), but it’s organised mayhem from The Artist’s Workshop, with writer and director Jimmy Kontos holding the reins, and Tara Lynn Steele achieving some remarkably tight choreography considering the limited space.
The singing is raucously excellent. The songs consist of new lyrics over music by (the QR programme says) “various artists” (unspecified). I certainly recognised ‘St James’ Infirmary’, beautifully sung by Cherry Sue (Jennifer Koon).
It’s madness, but, given its latish spot (9.55pm), it’s a great nightcap for the hedonistic festival-goer.
James Bryce
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