Last night I saw a theatrical apocalypse that felt both inevitable and fabulous. From the moment I entered New Theatre’s world premiere of The Frogs: In Hell They Sing Show Tunes, with lime green lighting and croaking frogs on either side, I knew I was in for a treat. This show is both controlled chaos in sequins and a gleeful skewering of the state of the world. All while still managing to squeeze in a toe-tapping number about amphibians!
Originally penned in 405 BCE by Aristophanes, The Frogs is a political satire that’s survived over two millennia; no small feat for a comedy about the afterlife. It’s been revived and adapted many times, perhaps most famously in Stephen Sondheim’s 1974 musical version.
But here it receives a wholly original Australian treatment. Hot on the heels of his marvellous Ophelia Thinks Harder at KXT in March this year, Alex Kendall Robson adapts and directs this bold new take. He takes the bones of the ancient text and infuses them with biting 21st-century humour.
The plot is deceptively simple. Dionysus, God of theatre, played with delicious flamboyance by Pat Mandziy, teams up with trusty sidekick Xanthias (Eddy O’Leary, a perfect counterbalance) on a mission to the Underworld to resurrect a dead playwright who needs to make a show that will save humanity. (The idea being that this is that show).
Along the way, they encounter a chorus of frogs. Not the peace-loving pond dwellers you might expect, but a cabaret troupe relishing the chaos above, croaking out Broadway numbers as if civilisation’s collapse were the hottest ticket in town.
What struck me first, and lingered long after, was the production’s brazen commitment to tone. This isn’t Greek comedy with a modern twist; it is full-throttle camp apocalypse.
Robson’s direction walks a razor-thin line between satire and despair. The moments of genuine bleakness, when the absurdity falls away and the reality of our own crises peeks through, hit hard precisely because the rest is so outrageously silly.
Dani Bainbridge’s choreography is sharp and playful, giving the frogs’ chorus numbers a manic energy that’s infectious. Musical director Zachary Alexander leads his musicians with vigour and gusto.
The ensemble cast is a joy to watch, each performer leaning into the heightened style while keeping the comedy rooted in character. Mandziy’s Dionysus is part divine diva, part frustrated thespian. O’Leary, as his servant counterpart, plays off him beautifully with his own moments to shine.
Meg Bennetts is a treasure, particularly as the curmudgeonly old woman. Axel Berecry shows off his range (and his pecs!) as Heracles. Max Fernandez is the scene-stealing Porter. Sebastyen Filipinski is hilarious in his multiple roles. James Robin brings down the house as the eccentric Ferryman. Nicolas Starte is as wacky and zany as ever, and Larissa Turton is an eye-magnet with her flirtatious, feisty feline characters.
The cast is a kaleidoscope of gallant, bombastic performers whom you kind of want to party with.
In the end, The Frogs: In Hell They Sing Show Tunes is more than a cheeky update of an ancient comedy; it’s a reminder that laughter and despair are not opposites but co-conspirators. Although this show might not save humanity, it certainly left me with an overwhelmingly heart full of love for the theatre.
The Frogs: In Hell They Sing Show Tunes runs to 6 September at New Theatre, 542 King Street Newtown NSW 2081.
Tickets are available here.
Website: https://newtheatre.org.au/the-frogs-in-hell-they-sing-show-tunes/
Socials: https://www.instagram.com/newtheatresydney/
Photo credits: Bob Seary
