Glenn & Flenn were the stars of a kid’s TV puppet show that has unfortunately fallen into obscurity. Both puppets and actors have been trapped in the studio and time has not been kind to them. Years of disuse made the puppets mouldy and rotten, and the puppeteers might just be going insane. It’s a wonderfully strange idea and writer and director Frederick Bang’s script has a good build up to the finale and lots of hilarious and horrifying humour. The Glenn & Flenn jingle and fun little songs particularly stand out and really pull the audience into this world, keeping everyone engaged throughout the show.

The puppetry unfortunately did not work. Eyelines are not working on the construction side, there are some odd choices like hiding the puppet behind one’s back although the audience can clearly see it, and an overall lack of technical puppeteering skills. All of this leads to the puppets never coming fully alive. There are lots of great puppetry ideas in the show, but not enough technique to support them.

Still, it is easy to overlook that thanks to the acting. Magnus Kelly (playing Glenn & Flenn) in particular brings lots of great energy and an impressive amount of stamina to his roles. It is evident that the entire cast and creatives put their all into this show by just how much heart it has. This is a grassroots theatre company and a very Fringy, whacky show – Martyr Theatre know this and they fully stand behind and defend it. That, in itself is so nice to see!

There are certainly some kinks that need ironing out to get this show to where it could go. As it is though, Glenn & Flenn is already laugh-out-loud funny, slightly terrifying, even a little heartbreaking, and a very enjoyable night out.

Glenn & Flenn runs until the 30th of August at Paradise in the Vault with tickets available at https://www.edfringe.com/tickets/whats-on/glenn-flenn   (run now completed)

Reviewer: Christina Schmidt

Reviewed: 28/08/2026

North West End UK/Theatre Muse UK rating:       4 stars