Punch and Judy in Afghanistan (Tobacco Factory)

Punch and Judy In Afghanistan should be a winner. An eye catching, original title, performed by puppet master par excellence Neville Tranter of Stuffed Puppet but after fifty five minutes one leaves with a slight shrug of the shoulders. Its politics don’t hit home hard enough and it struggles to juggle its varying tones from the light hearted handling of the first half to its descent into a darker, tougher, starker vein in the second.

It’s plot finds Nigel, the puppeteer head out to Afghanistan to entertain the troops. But as his Dutch assistant goes missing, he puts himself in danger on a quest to find out what has happened to him. On his quest he comes across a number of puppet characters, some of which work; a terrified French UN soldier, convinced he has found a terrorist, a crazed Punch Bin Laden and his bloodlust wife who likes all things English, and some of which veer a little too awkwardly into racial stereotypes.

Those who enjoyed it most appeared to be those who had imbibed a couple of jars before the Friday evening performance and this may be the best way to enjoy the silly humour and outlandish characters at its heart. Tranter’s expertise as a puppeteer ensure we always feel we are in safe hands and it’s a pleasant diversion to while away an hour but this isn’t his best work and doesn’t stick in the memory much after the houselights go up.