Non-stop laughter filled the Algonquin Commons Theatre as two naked men made puppets out of their penises Oct. 23 Their act: Puppetry of the Penis.
“You’ll never look at a penis the same way again,” explained Rich Binning to the crowd, made up mainly of women in their 40s and 50s. The duo were onstage accompanied by a 15-foot screen, with a blown up, sometimes zoomed in shot of their penis art.
“That’s 15-foot of penis on the screen,” said Binning.
The crowd ooed with excitement as the duo explained that they had to warm up their puppets before they could begin.
“It’s certainly cold in Canada,” said Barrie Brisco, Binning’s partner. “Don’t want us to pull a muscle,”“We grew these ourselves, they’re organic,” and then they began genital Zumba: stretching their genitalia between their hands.
The laughter was non-stop throughout the whole performance. The duo created many different puppets with their genitalia, from tucking it between their legs to turn themselves into women, to a bulging brain “where most men do their thinking!” teased Brisco. “Gentlemen, you are free to join in,” suggested Brisco to an audience containing maybe five men.
The duos newest trick involved a cardboard cutout of Miley Cyrus straddled atop Binning’s genitalia, mimicking the famous wrecking ball.
The crowd loved when Binning brought out a skateboard, rode it and formed his scrotum into a sail. Brisco asked the audience to blow at the count of three:
“If you don’t blow I will slap you with my dick, Ottawa!” The audience blew and Binning skated across the stage bringing a round of applause from the crowd. “You are still at a dick show,” Brisco periodically reminded the cheering crowd.
Gene Simmons, Kim Kardashian, Kanye West, a hungry baby black bird, a pelican, the Eiffel Tower, snails, Gonzo, the Loch Ness monster, a baby kangaroo, a cowboy hat, hot dogs, an ice cream cone, a double ice cream cone and a wrist watch were all created out of a pair of male genitalia.
“It was an amazing time,” said first-year hair stylist student Kati Rehak. “I didn’t know what to expect. I hadn’t seen any of their videos. I was laughing the whole time non-stop.” “My favourite trick was the snails,” said Rehak, “They were sort of cute.”
Kristeen von Hagen opened and closed for Binning and Brisco. “I’m not the penis part of the show,” explaining that instead, she was going to prep the audience for the penises. “If you don’t know who your dirty friend is,” she said, “it’s you!”
Puppetry of the Penis has been performed in 35 different countries in 5 different languages. Puppetry of the Penis has a how-to guide on sale: Puppetry of the Penis User Guide.
“Easy to follow diagrams, the best book you could have sitting around your house,” said Brisco.