Edinburgh Fringe Review: 'Randy's Postcards from Purgatory' ****

In terms of laughs, the show starts slowly, with the beginning five minutes reserved for establishing the story. However, you are immediately struck by the masterful puppetry, impressively human, as a hung-over Randy, wipes his mouth, and swigs back a hipflask. There is some unexpected audience interaction too, the improvised puppetry surprisingly accurate, and directed straight at any participating audience member. The flashbacks provide quick-fire, guttural laughter, in particular the private detective montage, and the introduction of ‘the flashback yeti’ is as hilarious as it is impressive. There are, in fact, too many stand-out moments in the show to name them all… the drunken Randy and prolonged sick scene at a kid’s party is brilliant, and the moments of self-awareness in the show, like when Randy notices the magnets holding the hipflask to the table are sublime. The story itself is a genuinely touching, telling of an on-off relationship, which many people could relate to in at least some way, and in some parts it is delivered with what feels like genuine regret and solemnity. The fact that an audience can become so emotionally involved in the love-life of a puppet, is a true credit to the puppetry, acting and the shows brilliant script.

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