Brighton Fringe comedy review by Steve Bennett

Dead Puppet Society often feels like it’s strayed from the children’s section of the Brighton Fringe programme. Not just because of the puppets, the ever-jaunty presentation or the swear-free language, but because the rambling sketches feel like the sort of nonsense you might improvise on the fly to entertain a small child. However, the lengths they’ve gone to – from Japanese shadow puppets to a 7ft ‘sock monster’ prove their flabby script is exactly what they actually meant to do.

Anarchic is the intended mood, but there’s a fine line between a comic shambles and a real one, and this is way over the wrong side, thanks to woefully weak writing that doesn’t convince you that, beneath all the upbeat bluster, this trio really known what they are doing. Certainly, punchlines are beyond them.

Instead, it has the feel of drama students mucking about for their own enjoyment rather than ours, dabbling in the sort of ‘surreal’ that is just meaningless juxtapositions. Some recurring scenes are linked, but any attempt at narrative makes very little sense – and is certainly not worth trying to follow.

Characters – and that is a grand name for the likes of ‘ug’-intoning cavemen – tend to be shouty and irritating, hoping volume and high-energy performance will paper over gag-free sketches. Some of these involve puppets, but most of them are just the humans… so even the show’s only selling point is frequently abandoned.

As an example of their work, the sketch that seems to give the troupe their name is based around the hopeful idea that: ‘The first rule of Dead Puppets Society is that you don’t talk about Dead Puppets Society’ might be a funny line.  Angela Fern’s proclamation is met with another member of the trio, Dan King, going ‘No’. Fern replying: ‘What’. King: ’No’. ‘What’. ’No’. ‘What’. ‘No’.  ‘What’ – until, just before you want to tear your own ears off in frustration, comes the supposed joke that it’s the wrong film. That’s Fight Club, guys!

The same gag comes again later, only this time with Lord Of The Flies as the incorrect reference. it is no funnier knowing exactly what's coming the second time around.

There are some moments of promise, the giant dancing squares is a strong visual image – although true to form, the troupe don't know what to do with them – as is the T-Rex, who does at least have a good joke. Even if she repeats it three times to get the best out of it.

But generally this is series of WTF? moments,  and not in a good way, proving only the theory that there’s never been a comedy sketch involving a blow-up woman that is actually funny.

The trio – Lee White being the third member – do get some decent laughs from the audience for their oddness, though returns diminish as the hour progresses and the shortcomings become very apparent.

Finally, a consumer announcement: There is also a much more highly acclaimed, and well-established, Dead Puppets Society working out of Brisbane, Australia. The two are definitely not to be confused.

Review date: 21 May 2017
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett