Paul Zerdin – Puppetmaster

Ventriloquist Paul Zerdin has already cornered the market with his postmodern take on the craft he practises so well. So well, in fact, you’d be forgiven for wondering where he could possibly take this latest show. Puppetmaster had all the Zerdin ingredients: his puppets, foul-mouthed youngster Sam, the equally foul-mouthed Baby and the senile Albert; slick tricks playing on convention and audience expectation. Though his act no longer yielded such delightful novelty as previous tours, Zerdin countered this, upping the ante with ever-more elaborate trickery and incisive self-reference. Finishing with an expertly-executed set-piece involving game audience members, this often jaw-dropping performance deserved its rapturous applause.

The Old Market, 14 October 2012
[Rating: 4/5]
Nick Aldwinckle