“He is a right diva, and expensive,” says director Ben Pettitt-Wade. “To have one character in a show that requires the wages of three just to say his lines is frankly crippling. I’m surprised any venue has booked us on the fees we have to charge just to break even.” Meet Fred is a logistical nightmare. The demanding lead actor is a two-foot-tall construct of cloth and foam.

Ingenious allegorical comedy of a puppet navigating the human world