We are suckers for a good puppet show over at STARBURST Magazine, so we had to go and check out Potty The Plant, a spooky musical featuring felt friends for grown-ups. It has been doing the rounds across the UK Fringe scene for a while now and is looking to tour across the UK soon.
Potty the Plant is a medical drama/comedy horror show featuring Potty, an adorable talking potted plant who lives in Little Boo Boo’s General Hospital. A quick musical number introduces us to Potty’s pals: Nurse Mel, Nurse Dave and Nurse Steven. Nurse Mel is obsessed with true crime podcasts and dreams of solving crimes, which is useful as folk suddenly start turning up dead.
But who could it be? Maybe it’s Potty’s love interest, Miss Lacey. She’s a cleaner and rather sweet. Or maybe it’s the mysterious medical professional she’s dating, a Doctor Acula, who also happens to have a ‘coffin-shaped’ storage unit. Maybe it’s Potty itself? Who can say?
As you can tell from that set-up, this is a rather silly show. Despite its cute trappings, it’s got a strong thread of adult humour that runs throughout. It’s cartoonish, it might be, but it’s more Rick and Morty than Bluey. It’s essentially Viz meets the Little Shop of Horrors: musical numbers tied in with a rather ribald (and dark) sense of humour.
The songs are catchy enough and a little bit rude; less is more, and there’s plenty left to the imagination. The story itself is pretty dark, and in many ways, it feels like a bit of kids’ TV gone horribly wrong. This is one of the reasons why the show is so funny. Potty itself keeps making you think that this is a cute kids’ show as the murders continue and the body count gets higher.
Potty The Plant is the quirkiest bit of musical theatre we’ve seen in a while and an excellent excuse for a night out.
You can book for the show here.
