I am reluctant to provide a review of this theater revue, now also available on DVD, because its use of nudity is so outside the philosophy of mainstream nudists and naturism in general. The only thing we have in common with these two Australian performers is the fact they are obviously unashamed of their full frontal nudity when in front of others. Anyone who tried to perform any of the "tricks" these two fellas show on stage would be immediately removed from any nudist resort and put on a "Do-Not-Admit" List for all time. Please do me the favor of never calling these two "nudists" as they are exhibitionists, pure and simple.

That said, there is no doubt these courageous and intrepid penis puppeteers have taken the world's stages by storm, creating a runaway comedy hit unlike any other. They've performed their unique repertoire of "genital origami" for stunned, impressed and amused crowds in theaters around the world for the past three years with no end in sight (except for their own.) Their performance definitely redefines "shock and awe."

PUPPETRY beings where "The Full Monty" ends. Simon Morley and David Friend present their "Ancient Art of Genital Origami" through more than 40 astounding "penis installations," including such crowd pleasers as The Pelican, The Windsurfer, The Eiffel Tower, The Loch Ness Monster, Soft Pretzel, Liberty Bell, City Hall and the duo's signature creation, The Hamburger. I must admit I was honestly fascinated and embarrassed at the same time. The actors use cameras to project the details of their manipulations onto a 30-ft wide screen behind them so that no detail can be missed, even if you wanted to.

Their childish jokes about genitals wear thin from overuse, but somehow the audience doesn't really mind being played with and after the initial shock of what we are looking at wears off the audience -- especially the women -- seem to rise to the occasion and they hoot and hollar their approval after every creative demonstration. I will agree with other critics that it is not intentially pornographic, and after a couple minutes, you almost forget they are even naked. Almost. There are very few men in the world who would be willing (or able) to get onstage and play with themselves for an hour in front of an audience of thousands. You have to respect them for that.

According to their official website, Puppetry of the Penis was conceived by Simon Morley in 1996 as the title of a highbrow art calendar, showcasing twelve of his favorite penis installations (known as "Dick Tricks" to the uninformed layperson). Years before, Simon’s youngest brother had shown him his installation, ‘The Hamburger’. Natural sibling rivalry resulted in the evolution of a grand repertoire of genital gesticulations. It was on New Year’s Eve in 1997, with a garage full of calendars to sell and burgeoning requests for live demonstrations, when Simon finally decided to unleash his talent on the world.

Simon's choice for a performance partner was David Friend, known as "Friendly," whose reputation as the life of any party was quickly growing. Friendy kept himself busy for most of the year, having created a solid business performing his repertoire of installations at Batchelorette/Hen’s night’s and private parties. As a young boy, Friendy began his Dick Trick career in the bath and developed his skills further when he discovered beer in college. After completing his degree in Computing, he returned to Melbourne with his own highly individual collection of hanging art. Together, Simon and Friendy’s solo "acts" became Puppetry of the Penis, and a global phenomenon was born.

Their debut at the 1998 Melbourne International Comedy Festival was a huge hit, kicking off an eight-month tour of Australia. Subsequent sell-out runs in Sydney and Melbourne encouraged the boys to take their wares to the 2000 Edinburgh International Fringe Festival, where they were humbled by yet another sell-out run. West End producer David Johnson realized the potential of the show after attending a performance where the woman sitting next to him wet her pants laughing.

PUPPETRY next went to London's West End. Initially booked for a five-week run at London’s Whitehall Theatre, the overwhelming response led to numerous extensions. The show finally closed after an astonishing five-month run. In September 2001, on the heels of a smash hit run in Toronto and a successful tour of Canada, PUPPETRY opened in New York at the John Houseman Theatre, where it played for over a year. By 2002 a second and third American company opened at L.A.’s Coronet Theatre and San Francisco’s Theatre on the Square. By the end of 2002 five companies were playing simultaneously worldwide. The next year new companies opened in Spain, France, Germany, New Zealand, Canada, The Netherlands, Italy, Portugal, and Switzerland.

When the performance played to sold out audiences in Los Angeles in 2002, it earned the two a guest visit to Jay Leno's Tonight Show (just to talk about the show, not to demonstrate anything.) The fact they were scheduled to appear caused local affiliates in about a dozen southern states (plus the entire state of Utah) to pull Jay's plug for the evening. I hear the boys are scheduled to be back in town before the holidays in 2004, and considering how much more conservative the country has become after the Janet Jackson "malfunction" I suspect Leno will not give them a return visit.

Though the DVD and video does a good job at capturing the fun and energy of the act, frankly, it doesn't do the live show justice. If you have seen it live, you probably won't be blown away by the video at all. I fault the editing, as there seems to be a lot of screen time focused on the audience reaction. Frankly, the The Vagina Monologues DVD did a far better job of capturing the intimacy of the performance and balancing it with the audience.

Other DVD Features:

• "Cockstars" 60 minute bonus featurette
• Multi page instructional book