Idiots Assemble – Spitting Image Saves the World: Live on Stage review

Back in the heyday of the puppet-peopled TV show, no one was safe from the bite of Spitting Image’s mordant satire. But after a tepid revival on BritBox, the march of the puppets on to the stage is a faltering one. It’s impressive to see 106 beautifully crafted puppets over the course of two hours, especially when manipulated by just 12 performers. But the jokes, written by Matt Forde, Al Murray and Sean Foley, consist mainly of a politician or celebrity saying the most obvious thing.

A smug trigger warning at the beginning of Foley’s production tells us that the show “identifies as funny”. It’s a languid little gag that presages plenty more anaemic satire along the same lines: Keir Starmer is boring, Nicola Sturgeon quotes Braveheart, Greta Thunberg is concerned about the climate.

There is a plot, though the show is aware of its unimportance – it serves more as a vehicle for bringing in an unceasing parade of puppets. King Charles is trying to restore the literal fabric of society – a pair of skid-marked underpants from M&S – and calls on Tom Cruise to put together a group of superheroes. They include Idris Elba and Angela Rayner. Putin’s here, Xi too, even Hitler, rubbing shoulders with Elon Musk, Taylor Swift and, obviously, Harry and Meghan.

It’s a strange mix of incredibly topical – Nicola Sturgeon’s lines swiftly rewritten in the wake of her resignation – and weirdly dated. Are we really still expected to laugh at jokes about John Major and Edwina Currie? But the writers are all men of a certain age, so perhaps it’s no surprise to hear ageing jokes. Part of the trouble is that the dialogue is pre-recorded, so there is no sense of timing. If the audience laughs too long, it’s impossible to hear the next line.

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