Puppetry of the Penis in 3D

Puppetry of the Penis was born when Simon Morley teamed up with fellow puppeteer David “Friendy” Friend. Their first show at the 1998 Melbourne International Comedy Festival was received as the “Outright Best Show”. Now the boys are back in their hometown for the Comedy Fest with a new show “Puppetry of the Penis in 3D”.

We had a chat with one half of the Puppetry of the Penis, Simon Morley, to ask what it’s all about anyway.

Milk Bar: For anyone who hasn’t seen your show, in the flesh, how would you describe it?

Simon Morley: Basically it’s a couple of naked men on stage manipulating their genitals for the amusement of others. It’s more than a show now, it’s sort of a global genitalia industry. We’ve performed in over 30 countries and in four different languages… it’s a great theatrical export (laughs).

MB: Tell us about your new show, Puppetry of the Penis in 3D.

SM: Right. Well basically it’s a new show, I mean, the old show, we didn’t have to change much over ten years. We just kept going to new countries and it was a new show for everybody. So we figured, if it wasn’t broke…

MB: Don’t fix it?

SM: Right. Ten years ago when we first started we used a camera, video screen and a projector. That was cutting edge technology. Now it seems every show has some sort of powerpoint presentation. So we always joked with media when they’d ask where we’d go next. Our answer: a 3D show.

It just so happens that the technology seems to have come around now so we’re back at the forefront. We’re using not just slides and 3D projections, there’s CGI too. So if we were to perform say a pelican for you it would be not only  projected onto the big screen in 3D but it’s also put into the body of a pelican, you know what I mean?

MB: Just picturing it now….

SM: The Loch Ness monster finds itself in a loch with a castle (laughs). So uh, we’ve gone way too far again.

MB: For people who might think the show sounds interesting but a little challenging, what would you say to give them that extra little nudge to check it out?

SM: Well, to be honest after ten minutes of watching our show it’s not all about the penises you know. Once you get over the initial shock of seeing the three-storey high male member on stage…it gets easier. There’s 800 to 1000 people rolling with laughter all around you, it just becomes infectious.

And the other thing is, there’s nothing “sexual” about the show. There’s nothing lewd or wicked about the male naked body. Lets be honest, it’s probably the most ridiculous part of the human anatomy that there is.

MB: True.

SM: We say it’s time for some liberation, it’s time to just get over it. It’s just a piece of skin, come along and just have a good old fashioned belly laugh.

MB: One last question, does it hurt?

SM: Absolutely not. If there’s one thing a man knows how to do from a very early age, it’s how to handle his own genitalia without hurting himself.

Puppetry of the Penis in 3D is showing at The Athenaeum Theatre until April 22 as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. For more information and tickets click here.