Avenue Q reviews round-up at the Shaftesbury Theatre in London

"Puerile puppetry perfection"

"Watching this giddy remounting, not an exact replica of the first production although several of the original creatives are still onboard, it’s easy to see why people rooted for this scintillating, humongous-hearted little show."

"If this Sesame Street for adults sometimes feels like a period piece (does anybody under 40 know who Gary Coleman is without Googling?!) it has an abundance of sardonic bite and vitality."

"Fundamentally though, this is the same zany confection, peppering kernels of relatable truth and human feeling amongst the pop-eyed joy and puerile but hilarious rudeness."

"It’s surprising how much you become invested in relationships between puppets"

"The astonishing [Emily] Benjamin also doubles as pneumatic Lucy, investing her with a world-weary drawl and diva vocals. Rick Lyons’ puppets remain largely unchanged, but why mess with perfection."

"Maybe best of all, Amelia Kinu Muus is take-no-prisoners jaw-dropping as his fiancée Christmas Eve, the fierce but golden-hearted Japanese therapist."

"... Avenue Q remains a delight, the theatrical definition of naughty but nice. Outrageous, smart and kind, it’s lovely to have it back."

"Provocative puppets return for a feast of filth and fun"

"Twenty years since its West End debut, the sweetly subversive musical returns with a few tweaks and a lot of heart"

"Avenue Q’s cute subversiveness is back"

"... not exactly shocking now but it’s very amusing"

"There is a noughties naughtiness to songs like If You Were Gay, Everyone’s a Little Bit Racist and The Internet Is for Porn"

"The subject matter is still current (from the resurgence of homophobia to the revival of Black Lives Matter), but not as charged in shock value."

"Lopez and Marx’s songs are a blast, from the cleverness of Schadenfreude to the melancholy in Kate’s break-up song, There’s a Fine, Fine Line"

"Every number is performed with such physical and vocal exuberance by the cast of actor-puppeteers, especially the spectacular Harrison and Benjamin, that it really does seem as if the puppets are doing the talking, singing and shagging."

"An illicit, profane, puppet joy"

"This Tony-winning legendary production revives at the Shaftesbury Theatre with hilarious offensiveness still intact"

"It’s both hilarious and liberating to see goggle-eyed, gape-grinning puppets drinking, swearing and shagging. The pitch-perfect, genre-mocking songs (Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx) and the book (Jeff Whitty) gleefully demolish taboos"

"This revival by the original Broadway director, Jason Moore, becomes a layered, elegant dance between the puppets and their visible, all-singing operators"

"True, the show has dated somewhat despite injected references to ChatGPT and Donald Trump. But it remains surprisingly wholesome and hopeful"

"I suspect this revival will appeal primarily to those who saw Avenue Q first time round"

"... even those coming to it fresh should relish a work that treats its naïve characters and its subject matter with outrageous, pin-sharp bad taste but also with affection and compassion."

"Deliciously louche humour with smart lyrics"

"Jason Moore’s production looks like an adult version of Sesame Street or The Muppets, but the jaundiced, wise-cracking worldview is closer to The Simpsons"

"If you are looking for wholesome, family-friendly entertainment, the Broadway hit Avenue Q... should definitely be avoided. If on the other hand, you desire a musical that combines deliciously louche humour with smart lyrics, then you must get along to the Shaftesbury Theatre."

"Beneath the jaunty rhythms, the songs by Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx enjoy thumbing a nose at convention. These puppets are as flawed and venal as any ordinary human being."

"The superb young cast, led by Noah Harrison and Emily Benjamin, manipulate a collection of hand-held puppets, designed by Rick Lyon, that are brought to life with the simplest of gestures"

"... the rest of the jokes are so wild they keep your head spinning. It’s as if Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy went on one long bender."

"Avenue Q’s bawdy puppets are back – and more outrageous than ever"

"With cheeky references to AI, binge-drinking and OnlyFans, the ‘Sesame Street for adults’ has returned with a hilarious bang"

"This jubilant anniversary revival at London’s Shaftesbury Theatre has a few contemporary updates – added references to Netflix, AI and OnlyFans – but, happily, doesn’t sacrifice one ounce of the show’s gleefully outrageous humour."

"... the joy of this jauntily efficient show (from which many meandering new musicals could learn) is that these existential crises are presented through catchy songs"

"An energetic, multi-rolling company, including the excellent Emily Benjamin, Noah Harrison and Charlie McCullagh, skilfully juggle all those elements and seamlessly integrate the puppetry."

"Would a show like Avenue Q, which teeters right on the edge of bad taste, get the green light now? Perhaps not. But judging by my audience’s ecstatic response, we might actually welcome more daring in our comedy – especially when it’s accompanied by great tunes, heart, and of course puppets."

"Winkingly naughty jolt of hand-operated humanity"

"Cheeky puppets still amuse in this sparkling revival"

"Any doubts that the show’s particularly noughties brand of foul-mouthed cheek would work in 2026 are quickly dispelled. If anything, lyricists Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx and book writer Jeff Whitty’s loving subversion... feels even sharper against the backdrop of today’s cost-of-living crisis and polarised social climate."

"Its pitch-perfect, primary-coloured evocation of trying to get by in a world that never seems to give you a break is funny, weirdly touching and relevant."

"Moore ensures that the pace never slacks and that there’s always something to catch your eye on stage."

"A superb cast effortlessly sync their performances with the puppets they are operating or acting opposite. Noah Harrison impresses as Rod"

"Not every character works, and the second half feels like an extended epilogue, but for big laughs and a winkingly naughty jolt of hand-operated humanity, this show is hard to beat."

The profane puppet musical back in town, and if it no longer feels audacious, it is very charming

"It’s not that Robert Lopez and Jeff Marx’s subversive ’00s classic has aged badly, even if a couple of its more wilfully transgressive moments ... land a bit ickily in the MAGA era."

"On the whole, though, the main flaw with Avenue Q in 2026 is that Avenue Q did it first. By which I mean that the jaw-dropping audacity of a rude musical theatre parody of Sesame Street has now largely gone"

"Accept all that, and Jason Moore’s revived production is a fun piece of naughty noughties nostalgia that raises a smile from the sight of its fluffy yellow stage curtain onwards."

"It’s all very well done: Anna Louizos’s sets and Rick Lyon’s puppets look superb to this day"

"The script has been given a cosmetic overhaul and now has references to Trump, AI, etc. It’s all pretty skin deep, though. Again: Avenue Q today is not the punky outsider it was almost a quarter century ago. But as a heritage musical, it remains a delightful one-off."

"A Gen-X time capsule that maybe should have stayed buried"

"A slick, well-performed production struggles to find relevance in a new revival at the Shaftesbury Theatre"

"The world has changed, and Avenue Q has not. Bar the odd modified line – a reference to streaming here, a joke about AI there, and one whooped-at insertion of “TRUMP!” – this is the same show as ever, its crassness, problematic edges, and idiosyncratically Bush-era sensibility preserved in theatrical amber."

"There is perhaps no starker synecdoche for Avenue Q’s problems than the Gary Coleman character – once a somewhat cruel but wryly specific spoof that carries so little cultural currency today it’s almost avante garde."

"It’s not just the references that have aged, but the show’s whole ethos. Observations about casual racism... feel mired in an understanding of racism that society has mercifully grown beyond."

"There is nonetheless much to admire about Avenue Q. The performances in particular are all strong, and involve an impressive juggling of singing, puppetry, and character-switching. The songs are bright and catchy"

"Yet this slickness isn’t enough for Avenue Q to justify itself."