This is a comedy so funny it has lasted more than two thousand years. Aristophanes wrote the original in 405BC as light relief for a country at war. The premise was that Athens was in the state it was because it didn’t have great writers any more. The god Dionysos therefore resolved to go down to Hades to bring back a great dramatist to save civilisation from chaos.
This Frogs at the Southwark Playhouse attempts to update the play for a modern-day audience, ‘freely adapted’ by Burt Shevelove and Nathan Lane in the 1970s. Unfortunately, this sets itself up for comparison to Aristophanes’ version and sadly, the update does not come up to scratch, despite an injection of Stephen Sondheim’s music and lyrics.
Both versions are full of knockabout humour. We are introduced to the two protagonists, a slave Xanthias (‘I prefer ‘intern’’, he says), playfully performed by TV’s Glee actor Kevin Mchale. He acts as foil to the exuberant Dan Buckley as the Greek god Dionysos. The humour is in the fact that a god is supposed to be dignified and commanding, but Aristophanes’ Dionysos is fussy, entitled and lacking in self-awareness. The lower status Xanthias, however, is more than alert to the realities of the world.
As a musical it is not one of Sondheim’s best, lacking any great numbers, though the choreography of Matt Nicholson and the chorus of singers and dancers are full of energy and make the most of what they have got. They make a great splash as frogs in a memorable scene dancing and singing with webbed hands, frightening the god, but this was perhaps more for kids than for an adult musical. The wine song of the worshippers of Dionysos gave me more appropriate adult appreciation of a very 1970s sound and I loved it.
What they can’t alter are the choices the adaptors made to bring the Greek play up to date. In Act II, Aristophanes creates a battle between Aeschylus and Euripides to see who is the best dramatist, and who will return to earth to enlighten humanity in its hour of need. The comedy comes in the petty way the writers compete with each other – doubtless reflecting what the dramatist knew about the way supposedly sublime writers bicker about prizes. In the modern production, the great dramatists who argue are Shakespeare and G.B.Shaw, each quoting lines on subject given to them – ‘woman’, ‘man’, ‘love’. This is a bit of a problem as Shaw’s claim to greatness has waned somewhat since Burt Shevelove was influenced by him. Aristophanes has aged well, Shaw has not. Despite that, Martha Pothen makes the most of the part of the pompous playwright, against Bart Lambert’s ethereal Shakespeare. There isn’t really much of a contest.
A bravo performance is given by Joaquin Pedro Valdes as Hercules, showing off his lovely voice and scintillating personality. Rightly so, the audience clearly loves the creation of Carl Patrick as the doddering, lisping steward and Victoria Scone’s drag act as Pluto. While the cast is vibrant, the concept of the book didn’t grab me. However, there was a very good approximation of Hades in the theatre – it was as hot as hell in there.
Cast: Dan Buckley, Kevin Mchale, Joaquin Pedro Valdes, Carl Patrick, Bart Lambert, Martha Pothen, Alison Driver, Victoria Scone, Milo McCarthy and Evonnee Bentley-Holder.
Director: Georgie Rankcom Choreography: Matt Nicholson
Playwright: Arisophanes, Burt Shevelove, Nathan Lane
Music and Lyrics: Stephen Sondheim
Running from 23 May-28 June 2025
Running Time: 7pm: 2 hours 20 minutes including interval