Avenue Q may feature puppets but it certainly is not for children. Roz Laws spoke to one of the stars, Birmingham born Matthew J Henry.

Don’t be fooled by the brightly coloured puppets on stage, because this is not a show for children.

Not when they openly discuss pornography and homosexuality, and sing songs titled Everyone’s A Little Bit Racist.

This is Avenue Q, the award-winning Broadway and West End musical which is now on its way to the Midlands.

One of the lead actors, Birmingham-born Matthew J Henry, is delighted to be playing in his home city – but won’t allow his 10-year-old sister Rebekah to watch him, despite her pleas.

“She really wants to come as she’s met the puppets. She says she knows the songs because she’s seen them on YouTube,” says Matt, 32.

“But I really don’t think she’s old enough. Maybe in a couple of years.”

Matt won’t be lacking in local support, though. His mother, physiotherapist Edris Henry of Bartley Green, will be in the audience, along with members of his Pentecostal church in Handsworth where he learned to sing Gospel music.

“I am from a religious background, but I think the church members are open-minded and will enjoy the show. My mum saw Avenue Q when I was in it in the West End. It was rather embarrassing singing about porn to your mum, but she thought it was really funny. I guarantee you will leave the show laughing. Or at least crack a smile, unless the swearing is too much for you.”

Avenue Q is a coming-of-age parable which opened in 2002 and went on to win three Tony awards. One critic described it as “how Friends might be if it had Fozzie Bear and Miss Piggy arguing about their one-night stand, but with more angst, expletives and full-on puppet sex”.

It follows graduate Princeton as he tries to find an apartment, a job and a purpose in life. He falls for neighbour Kate Monster but is distracted by Lucy The Slut.

Director Evan Ensign explains: “The writers came up with Avenue Q when wondering why we don’t have anything like Sesame Street to teach us life lessons as adults.

“Puppets and cartoons taught us to count and share our toys, but as we get older there is nothing to teach us how to cope with a break-up or issues of racism and sexism.

“They wrote it with a television series in mind then decided it would be best as a Broadway show.”

Matt Henry was among the original cast when Avenue Q transferred to the West End in 2006, understudying most of the characters.

On the tour he’s playing a human role – that of Gary Coleman, the actor who played Arnold Jackson in the 1980s US sitcom Diff’rent Strokes but lost all his fortune. He is portrayed as a broke man forced to accept a job as a building caretaker on Avenue Q. The writers originally offered the role to Coleman himself but he declined, then threatened to sue the producers – although he never did before his death in May last year.

“The character is not in the show so the audience can laugh at him,” insists Matt. “He is used as an example of someone who had so much money and then the biggest fall. When Gary died, they cut certain lines. I used to say ‘My greatest fear is I’ve already achieved my purpose in life and now I’m on a slow walk to the grave’.

“His is such a sad story. I remember watching him on Diff’rent Strokes and going round saying his catchphrase, ‘Whatchu talkin’ ’bout, Willis?’.

“He was the only black guy I can think of who had that really big stardom and lost it.”