Ventriloquist David Strassman will bring his new show The Chocolate Diet to Newcastle and the Hunter.
The show will be performed at six Hunter venues from Saturday to next Sunday.
The Chocolate Diet is a humourous take on "our obsession with sweets and lollies".
It's also a "send up of our failed diets" and features Ted E. Bare's drama with his "self-image and lifelong eating issues".
The problem is getting worse and Ted E. Bare can't get the support he needs, especially with the sneaky Chuck Wood leaving tempting donuts around. Meanwhile, Chuck has a sneaking suspicion that he was carved into the wrong body.
Strassman said his show was "a little bit about eating and diets".
"It's really a hilarious and brand-new comedy with all my puppets, direct from my twisted mind with help from my long-time Hollywood comedy writer Steve Altman."
When Ted realises his love of chocolate affects his health and weight, he embarks on a diet with hilarious results.
"It's really about Ted E. Bare's journey from fat to thin to silly and back again.
"My other characters have their own problems which mirror all of the funny parts of our lives, peppered with brief and edgy comments about our addictions, self-denial and love for things that taste and feel good," Strassman said.
He added that he'd always had topics in his shows that were socially relevant.
"I'm extremely careful about walking that fine line between humour, commentary, honesty and insult. I stay on my side of the street," he said.
"My comedy is clever and touches all of us, regardless of the sensitive subject matter."
Plus, it helps that puppets deliver the message.
"There's a sense of honesty with fantasy attached that you're forced to accept," he said.
"My puppets are not real so you can't really fault them for holding up a personal or social mirror that challenges convention. At the end of the day, it's a fun, clever, twisted and sometimes very dark puppet show, but always hilarious.
"If we can't laugh at ourselves, we can't grow as human beings. Life is too short and we all need a good hearty laugh at least once a day, right?"
Asked about the wave of obesity concerns, diet obsession and mental health awareness that had swamped life as we know it, Strassman said "the world should be gravely concerned".
"Processed and unhealthy food is everywhere and available 24/7. When I first came to Australia in 1991, there were no food courts, only a handful of fast food restaurants, no food at petrol stations and very few 7/11s. I rarely saw an obese Australian then.
"Now, unhealthy food is everywhere all the time. America is the same. We are biochemical, electrical machines and unhealthy food is poisoning our minds and bodies.
"It is contributing to rampant obesity, disease and mental illness. But, this is not what my show is about! I'm just answering your question. My show is funny, an escape from all of this, with a positive message loosely woven into a hilarious puppet show for adults."
Asked about his diet advice to his puppets, he said: "They rarely listen. They act so wooden. Sometimes they just stare."
The shows will be performed at Belmont, Hexham, Maitland, Nelson Bay, New Lambton and Cessnock. Check out davidstrassman.com for show dates and ticket details.
