There’s certainly the risk that a local theatre company (as opposed to a major touring one) might not have enough of the brash brightness, the energetic perkiness, the gawsh-darned American-ness to make Avenue Q work: it’s not a show that you can be in any way coy with. Luckily, BTG fits this show, well, like a hand in a glove. It’s a supremely confident production, in which about the only quibble we can make is one you’ll have heard before about many other productions – it’s a shame that the band is reduced to playing out of sight.
One of the major draws of this show is that it’s much more than a one-joke concept: it’s not simply about cute puppets swearing and having great sex (Note: it is about that a bit). While there is great fun to be had with songs like ‘Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist’ and ‘Schadenfreude’, there are deeper concepts to be investigated, such as acceptance of different cultures, the realisation that not every day is going to be brilliant, and even, somewhat startlingly, segregation. Through this, the show earns the comparison to Sesame Street: there are actually profound lessons to be taught here, many of them somewhat moving, all brought to you by the letter “Q”.
It is true that the script betrays signs of the era in which it was originally stitched together, and so the some of the main preoccupations are particularly early-millennium, culture reference wise: closeted gay friends, the new era of the Internet, although this production still manages an updated (and Brit-centric) gag that will elicit a cheer of recognition.
It’s misleading to pick out any particular performances in a show where the ensemble and leads are as focused and confident as each other, but we suspect a lot of the praise can be delivered to the doors of Nathan Potter and Simon Gray, the director and musical director respectively, both of whom have had a hand in what’s a boisterous, funny and bold show. It’s only on until the end of the week, so make sure you know how to get, how to get to Upper Market Street.
Performed on Tuesday 11 February 2014 at The Old Market in Brighton.