Adapted by Alex Kendall Robson after Aristophanes
‘The Frogs‘ is a reminder of satire’s endurance in theatre in a piece that delivers lots of laughs, if only it promised the music in the title
Reviewed by Juliana Payne
New Theatre, Newtown
Until 6th September
Tickets: https://newtheatre.org.au/the-frogs-in-hell-they-sing-show-tunes/
Type: Musical Comedy, Adaptation, Quirky & Whacky
If you like: A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Monty Python
New Theatre’s revival of The Frogs proves that Aristophanes’ comic bite still has plenty of life in it, even after more than two millennia. For those who haven’t before waded into Aristophanes’ play, performed in about 400 BCE, The Frogs follows the god Dionysus on a journey to the underworld to bring back a great playwright who can save Athens from cultural decline.
Adaptor and director Alex Kendall Robson trades the traditional dense classical verse for quick-fire, contemporary language and a sprinkling of cheeky modern songs, turning The Frogs into an outrageously camp and hilarious comedy with a uniquely queer Australian voice. As he writes in his program notes, however, it’s not that different to the original as both have “plenty of dick jokes and a general sense of silliness”. He gives ancient satire a modern bounce, which is gleefully irreverent, although occasionally chaotic, which is part of its charm.
Pat Mandziy and Eddy O’Leary as Dionysus and Xanthias are fabulous, with a genuine chemistry and great sense of physical comedy. Larissa Turton and Meg Bennetts show excellent comic abilities as the landladies, and Bennetts turn as Sappho is really, really funny. Max Fernandez as the Porter has a stunningly physical stage presence that you just have to see.
Performance-wise, the show thrives on a sense of ensemble mischief and it’s pretty effective for its no-interval run time. Most of the cast are also in the chorus of frogs at some point, evoked with marvellously minimal costuming by Josh Carter – think green beanies with googly eyes on top, and green gloves! He has also swapped out the heavy folds of Athenian drapery for bright purple and lurid-green costumery which works a treat.
But, we need to talk about the musical numbers. The title offers ‘show tunes’, and the production just doesn’t have enough of them. The songs are well written and well performed with some live guitar and piano (again – not enough), but they’re not the belting type of show tune that this production could carry. When we did hear a couple of Broadway-style numbers, they were great! And I’m not sure why the performers were not miked – with differing vocal strengths, some could project to the back row and some were a bit lost in the melee, so we missed some of the lyrics.
…an enjoyable, high-energy celebration of satire’s enduring power to poke fun
If this production falters, it is perhaps that it doesn’t go far enough in its modern adaptation of the plot. With some rather obscure plot points and lack of clarity as to who and what some of the characters represented, they could be leaving the audience a bit puzzled when they could have been sheeting home some pointed political satire. Gods know that’s just about all us punters have left in the current climate. Just make sure you read up on the play before you see this!
This Frogs isn’t a museum piece; it’s an enjoyable, high-energy celebration of satire’s enduring power to poke fun at those who lead, the artists who create, and those of us who watch from the sidelines.
CREATIVE TEAM
Director Alex Kendall Robson
Set Designer Tom Bannerman
Lighting Designer Holly Nesbitt
Costume Designer Josh Carter
Sound Designer David Wilson
Music Director Zachary Aleksander
Choreographer Dani Bainbridge
Assistant Director Eddy O’Leary
Stage Manager Christopher Starnawski
ASMs Heidi Nesbitt, Ruby Hawken
CAST
Zachary Aleksander
Dani Bainbridge
Meg Bennetts
Axel Berecry
Max Fernandez
Sebastyen Filipinski
Pat Mandziy
Eddy O’Leary
James Robin
Nic Starte
Larissa Turton
