The Prophetic Visions of Bethany Lewis

Bethany Lewis can see the future. That is, once she's been whacked over the head by a tin of beans from her kitchen cupboard. That's the premise of this silly puppetry satire, a sort of Avenue Q meets Spitting Image.

Her first prophecy concerns her taxidermist BFF Jade, predicting she'll win big on the slots and meet a well-endowed lover, but they soon escalate to visions of matricide and overthrown governments. Supported by her loyal boyfriend Gary, we follow the action as Beth goes from nobody to fame as her accurate visions give her a cult-like following. It all gets nasty when Bo-Jo (who's worryingly ended up as PM, ultimately controlled by a porcine puppet-master) gets involved, accuses her of witchcraft and plots poor Beth's demise.

The puppets—there are around 15 of them—are brilliant, looking like something out of The Muppets, and the trio of Katie Wells, Luke Dunford and Emma Lundegaard work deftly with them. 

Through fuzzy specs, The Prophetic Visions of Bethany Lewis examines the cult of celebrity, friendship and the ruthlessness of people needing to get their own way no matter what the cost.

There are laugh out loud moments, but some of the humour falls a little flat, and the song at the end feels unnecessary. Yet there's some nice satire, with political observations including those around Theresa May's wheat fields and David Cameron's pig incident. If you like daftness and puppets, with a political edge, then this could just be the show for you.