There were elements of the story I really enjoyed, such as Pluto’s mind-blowing description of life – or I suppose death – in Hades which I have to say makes it a far more attractive final destination than the Bible ever did. The story is surprisingly relevant for the current political climate and the script contained some nice little drop-ins of current phrases which fitted perfectly with the overall tone and theme of The Frogs. The idea that a single play could change the world may sound a bit naive but, let’s face it if you are the God of theatre and wine, then your choices are rather limited.
For all this though the show itself is actually quite endearing and interesting to watch. The music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim are themselves unusual and at times, it feels as the great Mr S was testing out some tunes in this production before expanding them and using them in other shows. Originally written by Aristophanes, it has been, as the programme says, “freely adapted” by Burt Shevelove and “even more freely adapted” by Nathan Lane and is a bit of a mish-mash of ideas. The Frogs is a bit of an odd musical in many respects. With only twenty-four hours available to him, can Dionysos fulfill his plan and save the world from itself by the use of a new play? When the travellers make it to Hades, they meet some of its inhabitants, including a cult of Dionysion worshippers, Charisma,the Keeper of Keys to the palace, Aekos, Virilla The Amazon (Li-Tong Hsu), George Bernard Shaw and his great literary rival, William Shakespeare (Nigel Pilkington), and then finally, the Ruler of the Underworld, Pluto Emma Ralston) who sheds new light on life in Hell for Xanthias and Dionysos. As they travel, Dionysos tells his companions about his dead wife Ariadne (Bernadette Bangura) and her crown of stars.
Dionysos and Xanthias head to the River Styx where they meet the ferryman, Charon (Jonathan Wadley). Herakles advises his half brother to pretend to be him so he can talk his way into Hades – as the rather effete Dionysos would not do well in the macho world of hell.
#The frogs musical how to#
On the way, the two travellers pop in to get some advice from Dionysos’ half brother, Herakles (Chris McGuigan) on how to get to Hades. Whilst reluctant – he really doesn’t like travelling – Xanthias goes with his master, well he is a slave so his options are limited. Being the God of Theatre he thinks the best idea is for him and his slave Xanthias (George Rae) to head to Hades and bring George Bernard Shaw (Martin Dickenson) back to the earth to write a play that will speak to the people of the earth and help society with their problems. The time is the present, the place is Ancient Greece and Dionysos (Michael Matus) is in despair about the state of the world. There aren’t many musicals that have taken over two thousand years to write and can boast the creative talents of Aristophanes, Stephen Sondheim, Burt Shevelove and Nathan Lane, but The Frogs which is having a run at the Jermyn Street Theatre is just such a show. THE FROGS: George Rae (Xanthias) and Michael Matus (Dionysos) and cast Photo David Ovenden
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