It Sucks To Be You!

Last night I went to watch Avenue Q in the West End, that Sesame Street parody that makes a mockery out of life, finding the funny side of the stark contrast between the 'real world' and what we were taught when we were toddlers through the make believe world of discovery, enjoyment and dreams that was created through programmes like Sesame Street.

I LOVED Sesame Street when I was young, I sat in front of the TV everyday at 12pm with my lunch and sat back for an hour and watched a world where muppets, monsters, americans and immigrant neighbours lived in harmony, teaching and helping each other through things they didn't understand, and taking you on a journey of discover with them. On Sesame Street, just about everything happens, Grouchy things live in your garbage and Snuffleupagus' can ice skate. (No really he did once =P) I found out now that the writers had always been extremely insightful in threading more grown up problems and concerns into the programme content, they tried to tackle emotions that some children face but are sometimes never properly addressed by parents, like how to cope with death, the value of asking questions, and how to talk to someone when you are in trouble, as opposed to keeping it to yourself. And they did it so effectively, as a running theme, integrated into Sesame Street life, and not just one episode on how it's good to tell the truth, so the poor kid who missed it missed out on a life-learning lesson.

The characters were also unforgettable. I guess it's what makes Sesame Street such a successful series. The same can be said for Avenue Q, we get Rod the investment banker and his roomate Nicky, a parody of Bert and Ernie, renowned for the speculation that they were possibly gay (but I don't think so), Lucy the Slut, who is well.. a slut, Kate Monster kindergarten assistant, Trekkie Monster internet pervert, and Princeton the BA Hons student who majored in English, who can't think what the fuck he did his degree for. It's an outlook on how life sucks after uni, and regurgitates a lot of truths on human nature, but with a pinch of salt and delivered through song and through the mouths of puppets so you can have a good laugh at how pathetic we all are as people.

I thoroughly recommend watching it, running at the Noel Coward Theatre, I got a seat in the stalls for 40 quid, pretty good view and all. While I was watching it I saw someone in the audience two rows in front of me; that boy actor who is in Love Actually and an episode of Doctor Who called 'Human Nature'. I got a bit starstruck because I think he's got so much talent on screen, but anyway, if you want a taster of what Avenue Q might be like, have a listen to some of the songs, or watch a clip =)