[2012020] Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre [FringeTIX]
Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre @ The Campanile
7:45pm, Tue 21 Feb 2012
Having a show titled “Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre” gives a pretty clear indication of what to expect – high-pitched theatrical Scottish puppetry of a socky persuasion, one might think.
That’s spot-on-the-money, as it turns out.
The chortles start prior to even entering the venue – the pre-show music is a falsetto re-working of Cee Lo Green’s classic, and cunningly titled “Sock You”. The puppet booth (or rather, frame) is clad in tartan, and as soon as the manky socks that are the Falsetto Sock Puppets appear, you can tell that there’s some genuine laughs in store.
The two sock puppets – understandably – have a real rapport, and are blessed with not being able to talk over each other. But they form a classic double-act – straight-mansock on the left, joker on the right. There’s some truly terrible (in a good way) puns and lots of word-play; costume changes are frequent and mocked. The donning of a guitar (or piano!) for the odd musical interlude is always a delight, with the waggly arms of the puppets a perfect complement to the googly eyes.
Surprisingly, the show isn’t terribly profane… until the incredible take on Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious, which manages to up the cuss-content to suitably-Scottish levels. But the writing is strong enough to hold the show up without having to resort to the joy inherent in foul-mouthed puppets; the word association bit is gloriously silly (when it should be groaningly sad), the saw-a-puppet-in-half magic trick is head-slappingly silly, and the analysis of the lyrics in Michael Jackson’s number one song Thriller Beat It Billie Jean Heal The World (“we really haven’t researched this at all”) is also a silly delight. Even the “entire” Star Wars encore, consisting of a mere two scenes, manages to turn a foolish idea into a silly romp.
See the common word there? Silly.
The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre is just silly good fun. There’s absolutely nothing serious about it – but sometimes, that’s more than enough to carry a show. If your neurons need a break, but you still want to laugh, you could certainly do a lot worse than the Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppets.
Just wondering if u had a chance to catch a show at the Colonel Light during the Fringe called Gravity Boots. A friend convinced me to go last night and I was amazed. I have never seen anything like it. Clever, hilarious and very out there. It is a brilliant show and these lads are incredible. Certainly worth a look. Cheers Marg
Hi Margaret! Gravity Boots are most certainly on The Shortlist (and even highlighted in the “must see” colour) after I encountered them at Gluttony last year. I’m looking forward to catching their new show :)
Thanks for the lovely review. We only wish you gave stars too. Cheers – The Scottish Falsetto Sock Puppet Theatre
i have had the pleasure of promoting “the socks to some varied audiences , and they have always been entertained beyond their expectations , i always look forward to wathing the addlibbing thats adds so much to the evening.
It’s my pleasure, SFSPT :)
(I don’t do stars because I freely admit that I’m not a critic. I only try to write about the experience – which can be so much more than a star rating can describe.)
@sal monello: that is the coolest name ever ;)