Avenue Q review: These hilariously filthy puppets have a lot of heart
The infamous 2004 Tony award-winning Best Musical is celebrating its West End revival at Shaftesbury Theatre.
From the 2026 revival of The Muppets Show on Disney Plus to Elmo's follower count climbing north of 700K on X, the last few years have seen something of a puppet renaissance.
Therefore, it makes sense that now is the time for the West End revival of Avenue Q, Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx's musical comedy following the ups and downs of randy, foul-mouthed puppets.
The key point of the show is that although these characters are made from felt, they're just like us; Princeton struggles to find his purpose, Kate Monster bemoans her lack of a boyfriend, Rod is coming to terms with his sexuality, Trekkie Monster is a porn enthusiast and avid OnlyFans user.
If you're thinking that the last example doesn't sound terribly appropriate for a puppet show, you'd be correct. Avenue Q, with its foul language, suicide jokes and graphic puppet sex scenes (yes, really) flies in the face of stereotypes, with the biggest laughs coming from the weird juxtaposition between cute puppets and crass jokes about life's harsh realities.
Speaking of big laughs, this script is packed full of them. The hilarious musical numbers, with titles like The Internet is For Porn and Everyone's a Little Bit Racist, draw a wicked contrast between the taboo topics and their Sesame-Street-meets-musical-theatre scores.
Jeff Whitty's excellent book is peppered with with the perfect amount of profanity and explicit sexual references, used sparingly so the joke doesn't become tired and the shock value lands perfectly each time.
This show, which first premiered in 2003, has garnered a cult following from its edgy and progressive humour. However, what was considered innovative comedy back then doesn't always hold up 23 years later.
It's less to do with what younger people consider offensive, and more to do with what they consider funny. Take the character of Christmas Eve for example, whose heavily-accented English is often the butt of the joke. While some audience members may find this offensive, many will find it simply not that funny, as talking to people with accented English is a part of most of our daily lives.
The same applies to Nicky's eventual homelessness, when his asking for money is played for laughs. Offensive? Perhaps. Stale? Definitely.
The staleness of some of these key comedy moments is what takes this from a five-star production to four stars. It's a hilarious show with catchy musical numbers that provides a surprisingly insightful take on 21st century life in the big city – high praise, but the creative team need to be able to kill some of their darlings in order to garner a cult following with Gen Z.
One thing that in no way could be improved upon, however, is the talent on the stage. A key feature of Avenue Q, in contrast to traditional puppet shows like The Muppets and Sesame Street, is that you can see the puppetry at work.
This just makes the production all the more impressive, as actors seamlessly switch between roles and puppets, all while acting through their own bodies, as well as through the puppet.
The vocal talent is something to behold, especially when it comes to actors playing multiple roles with highly different voices. Emily Benjamin's rendition of Kate Monster's heartfelt ballad There's a Fine, Fine Line sung in Kate's signature squeaky voice couldn't be more different than the smoky tones of Lucy The S**'s Special— and she effortlessly masters them both.
The same goes for Noah Harrison's Princeton and Rod, and Charlie McCullagh's Nicky, Trekkie Monster and Bad Idea Bear. And when it comes to the human characters, Amelia Kinu Muus's brash, extroverted Christmas Eve stole the show.
This is of course complemented by Anna Louizos's iconic set, packed full of details that die-hard fans know and love, as well as some brand-new surprises.
Right now feels like the perfect time for an Avenue Q revival, given our age of rising costs of living and increased polarisation. These are heavy issues that affect our day-to-day lives, but exploring them using puppets gives us enough distance to laugh at our problems.
As well as these laughs, Avenue Q offers us an insightful and nuanced take on life. Our dreams may or may not come true, we may or may not get the girl, maybe we'll never find our purpose. We're all just looking for community and a sense of humour – and that's something you'll definitely find at Avenue Q.
For more on the latest UK theatre news, here's our review of Romeo and Juliet starring Sadie Sink, plus how to get Les Misérables Arena Spectacular tickets, starring Michael Ball and Alfie Boe.
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Where and when can I watch the West End revival of Avenue Q?
Avenue Q is currently playing at Shaftesbury Theatre, right by Tottenham Court Road station.
It will be running until 29 August 2026.
How to get Avenue Q tickets
There are still plenty of tickets available— we'd really recommend getting good seats for this one, so you can see the incredibly detailed puppets and masterful puppetry up close.
Fancy more on-stage laughs in 2026? Here's our roundup of the best comedians on tour in 2026.
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