Theatre / Reviews
Review: Frogs, Alma Tavern
It would have to be something pretty special to tempt a theatre crowd away from sunshine and barbecues this week.
But Hecate Theatre Company’s fresh all-female take on the classic Greek drama Frogs by Aristophanes is definitely something to raise a Pimm’s to.
Five actors form a flexible cast of one froggy chorus, two famous writers, a Greek god and a host of cameos along the way.
Self-important deity Dionysus (Gemma Reynolds) and his slave Xanthias (Hannah-Marie Chidwick) visit the underworld to settle a petty squabble in heaven: who is the greatest writer of them all?
On the way they encounters ferryman-cum-generic-taxi-driver Charon and serious uncle Pluto (both played by Melissa McCarthy), who remind them of their eventual fate in the same place.
But do not think that it is all straight faces – the action happens against the backdrop of the glittering fronds of hell, accompanied by much green face paint.
There are plenty of laughs as the Olympians make their way to the authors they seek for the final competition.
Two spirited defences ensue: one from the arrogant Shakespeare, beautifully pitched by Bella Fortune, and one from Maya Grant’s sharp-witted Jane Austen.
But the real star of the show here is the ensemble cast who croak, sing and banter their way through a sparkling, relevant script by Bristol University graduate Charles Scherer.
The story may be 2,500 years old, but the references to celebrity, the relevance of art, and mortality, feel just as pertinent today.
And given that the production comes in at just under an hour, this pacy bit of theatre is the perfect accompaniment to a summer’s evening in the sun.
By Nicola Yeeles
Frogs is at the Alma Tavern Theatre until Saturday, June 28. For more information, visit www.almataverntheatre.co.uk/theatre/what-s-on.html.
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