The Frogs ★★★ Southwark Playhouse, Borough | May 23 - Jun 28, 2025


This updating of Aristophanes' play maintains much the same plot as the original with the god Dionysos and his slave Xanthias going on a quest to Hades to bring back Athens' greatest playwright to provide guidance to the polity in troubled times. In the original, the pair intend to bring back Euripides from the dead, but in this rewrite the object of their quest is George Bernard Shaw. After an amusing crossing of the river Styx with a stoned Charon, the second act sees the pair in hell with Dionysos judging a poetry slam between GBS and Shakespeare to determine which author could best help the world in addressing its political and social issues. (In the original this contest was Euripides versus Aeschylus.) The current show is rife with lots of puns and pop-culture humour, and Burt Shevelove and Nathan Lane's adaptation produces suitably manic mayhem while Stephen Sondheim's music and lyrics cleverly parody various familiar tunes. The cast brings tremendous enthusiasm and energy to the enterprise, and there are a couple of standout performances. Dan Buckley and Kevin McHale shine as the wonderfully bewildered Dionysos and his sly sidekick, while Carl Patrick is equally hilarious as Charon. With her rendition of "Hades" Victoria Scone's Pluto brings the house down, and Jaoquin Pedro Valdes as Heracles does a splendid job in his production number "Dress Big." However, things flag when the poetry slam between Shaw and Shakespeare takes place, and the former's Irish accent results in the audience losing some of the playwright's well-turned phrases. The Frogs is a lot of fun, but to fully appreciate the spoof it definitely helps to know the original and to have some knowledge of the classical antecedents. Without that background in mind, this show could seem to be just a skit, a very silly ado about nothing.

Rated: ★★★

Reviewed by J.C.
Photo by Pamela Raith

When, Where, Getting there:
Map & Location: 77-85 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BD, UK

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