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. His natural choice of performance partner was David "Friendy" Friend, 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. The national tour covered 20,000 kilometers and was been captured in the documentary Tackle Happy. 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. Contracts and mops were brought out, and a deal was made on the spot.

PUPPETRY OF THE PENIS was on its way to London's West End. Initially booked for a five-week run at London’s Whitehall Theatre, the overwhelming response led to numerous extensions.