Puppies Up?
Kathy Duncan has a big smile, a big personality and a great sense of humour.
So it’s hardly surprising she burst out laughing when I told her I once worked in an adult toy store. That she was standing in the middle of her own shop (8008 Lingerie aka ‘BOOB’) holding a corset and surrounded by walls full of lacy bras and panties at the time seemed fitting. No pun intended.
I was visiting Kathy in my capacity as producer of Sherlock Holmes and the Hound of the Basketballs, a bawdy and irreverent adults-only puppet show being staged at the Almonte Old Town Hall in mid-May. 8OO8 Lingerie is one of the show’s five sponsors. I love it that local people and businesses step up to the plate to support the arts in our community. It restores my faith in humanity, which, not surprisingly, has been flagging a bit of late.
Coincidentally, Kathy’s sister Christine Moses is our props person on the Hound. Some folks have volunteering in their blood. Such is the case with these two sisters who lost their 98-year-old mother Margaret Duncan in March. Christine has been at every Hound rehearsal since January, despite the illness and subsequent death of her mother who, according to her obituary in The Millstone, was “…a successful businesswoman, elected municipal official, [and] community fundraiser.” Like I said, in the blood.
Speaking of blood, there isn’t any in our production. Which is a bit surprising given all the goings on. Are there murders? You betchya. More than one in fact. Intrigue? Definitely. Sexual innuendo? Plenty. Cheating? Uh huh. Cover ups? Check. A twisted ending? Perhaps. But blood? Nope. We had to draw the line somewhere.
Speaking of fundraising (notice that barely noticeable segue…), the Hound show is a fundraiser for Puppets Up! 2022, a revitalization of the beloved puppetry festival that was held for more than a decade in Almonte. The last one was in 2016. The community is bringing the festival back to life this summer. That takes dollars. Lots of ‘em. We’re lucky to have some great sponsors for our show.
And the Hound cast is doing its part, rehearsing like crazy to make this original production the best-ever adult-oriented puppet show on the planet. Go big or go home right? Size is everything as they say. Hmmm. Or maybe it was the other way around…
Anyway, on the adult-oriented front (ahem), the show is clever, risqué and laugh-out-loud funny. Just between you and me (Kathy doesn’t know it yet), but, in the second act, 8008 Lingerie sponsors a 129-year-old fashion show dedicated entirely to unmentionables. Oh my goodness, there are some naughty items in the collection. And later in the second act Queen Victoria herself takes a poke – oh! – at a special type of underwear enjoyed by her late husband Albert. Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.
I’m itching to see if Kathy reacts in the same way she did (see pics below) when I let my sex shop secret slip. Which reminds me, why not slip over to ticketsplease.ca and buy your tickets to the Hound (May 12 – 15) and Puppets Up! (August 12 – 14)? Do it now to take advantage of early bird prices.
When you’re done, bounce in to 8008 Lingerie and get something sexy to keep those puppies up!
© 2022 Susan Macaulay. I invite you to share my poetry and posts widely, but please do not reprint, reblog or copy and paste them in their entirety without my permission. Thank you.
