Subscribe & Follow
Advertise your job vacancies
Trending
Show more
Is it a bird, is it a fruit bat? No it's the power of the penis!
12 Sep 2008
The usual suspects and I attended the global hit, Puppetry of the Pen!s at the Baxter last night; the genital origami show in which the performers penis's are manipulated to form and mimic certain objects, animals and even international monuments. We prepared for the show before hand by saying penis penis every now and again and giggling manically. Though I'm not too sure if anything could really have prepared us for it, it was nothing less than educational, who knew the male anatomy could do such things.
Simon Morley and David “Friendy” Friend have performed these amazing manipulations (or installations as they call them) all over the world since their debut in their native Australia in 1998. The amazing penis puppeteers were introduced by Ninia Benjamin from the BBC's 3 non-blondes fame. She was on the prowl that night focussing her affections on Merlin an unsuspecting audience member who arrived late. Ninia got everyone laughing with her experiences in South Africa as well as a horrendous attempt at the South African accent.
Next up were Simon and David who walked onto the stage covered up by some garish cloaks. They explained their unique brand of puppetry and clarified that no actual puppets were involved in the show, just in case some of the audience had been misinformed, before flinging off their cloaks to the squeals of those in the front row. Luckily for those of us in the back all the boys “installations” were filmed up close and personal and projected onto a massive screen behind them so we didn't miss out on any of the action and err… detail.
After some stretching and limbering up the installations began which included amongst others, a baby kangaroo, an emerging mollusc, a hamburger, a didgeridoo, kfc (a sight that could put you off the Colonel for life) and the Eifel Tower. It was truly amazing how believable some of their impressions were. By far one of the funnier acts of the night was the fruit bat which needed a helpful member of the audience to participate. Nicole was the lucky one chosen and had to hold the legs of Simon while he stood on his hands. Effectively creating the illusion that her head was emerging from between his legs. It didn't really look like a fruit bat but was quite eye catching none the less. She even got a Polaroid photo of herself performing the installation as a memento of the show. Not too sure if that will be going on any mantelpieces though.
The final death defying act of the night involved a skateboard and a fan set on high; a truly amazing spectacle which you will just have to see for yourself. The Puppetry of the Pen!s will be on in Cape Town at the Baxter till the 28 September 2008 after which it will move to the University of Johannesburg Arts Centre from 30 September - 19 October. If you are not of the faint hearted or squeamish type don't miss out on this truly weird, mildly disgusting and amazing show.
For more information and tour updates, please visit www.comedyfestival.co.za or www.puppetryofthepenis.com.
