(seen at the afternoon performance on 7th June 2025)
Every Sondheim fan knows that this was first performed in 1974 in a swimming pool at Yale University. The product of Burt Shevlove’s post-graduate brain and Sondheim’s passing fascination with Greek verse.
By 2004, Nathan Lane had further adapted the script, and this production uses it – adding a few witty updates and asides.
This is the first problem. To a British audience, it all feels rather like panto – which nobody is in the mood for on a wet summer afternoon. It is possible that had this been presented during the festive season, the response may have been less muted.
Second issue is that this is varsity campus material. Not only is it asking you to like it, but there is that constant student undertone of begging us to acknowledge just how clever it all is and celebrate the extent of knowledge being twisted for our entertainment.
It produces an inconsistency which varies between excusable exuberance and extreme irritation at a man who, by then, had three sensationally good scores to his name. In “The Frogs” we hear more snatches of great things to come, a maturity which comes to fruition in “Into The Woods” in particular.
For this is an early version of the fairytale quest, Greek style. Dionysos (Dan Buckley) wants to impress people and bring peace by dragging George Bernard Shaw back from the underworld. Slave Xanthias (Kevin McHale) is forced along for the ride – part of which is provided by Charon (Carl Patrick).
Once in the underworld, a literal “play-off” between George Bernard Shaw (Martha Pothen) and Shakespeare (Bart Lambert) leads to a different resurrection under the watchful eye of Pluto (Danielle Steers – guest star of the week, in fabulous goddess form vocally and dominating the silly boys).
The plot in a paragraph. Buckley and McHale enliven the early scenes with plenty of topical humour (they missed one about the evil place being Mar-a-Lago, maybe). McHale accepts gracefully references to his past acting history. It is a well-chosen pairing of clowns with good timing, and it was a pleasure for the front-row monkey to take care of the vino for a half-god.
Carl Patrick steals the show as Charon. Given the best written character, funniest lines and full use of Libby Todd’s amusingly adaptable staircase and classic Greek bits set (her frog outfits are inspired too), he makes every moment of business compelling – particularly several key set pieces.
Director Georgie Rankcom and choreographer Matt Nicholson drill the ensemble to deliver well-executed cameo performances and dance routines featuring what can only be described as ancient Greek forms, probably hard on the muscles but worth the effort.
Lambert against Pothen in final contest is a triumph for both – Pothen’s accent as thick as her beard, Lambert channelling his RADA training to good effect tackling Bill the Quill.
Also worth mentioning are Alison Driver’s seductive Ariadne, Joaquin Pedro Valdes’s egotistical brother of Dionysos, Herakles, and both ensemble members Milo McCarthy and Evonnee Bentley-Holder.
McCarthy has a soulful cheerfulness and strong singing voice making them a very useful actor to note for future casting. Bentley-Holder is gifted with the rare talent of underpinning scenes, filling a role without the need to steal focus. Another handy company member for any production.
The promise and hope shown here equal that of Dionysos's journey, cast and production amusing if not revealing. It is a rare chance to see this piece performed to a strong standard. Sondheim completists and those discovering him need to see this, as one to tick firmly off that list.
If the show itself lags at times, proving to be not always exactly ribbiting stuff, the monkey will take Sondheim approaching his peak years over his swansong “Here We Are” (playing at the time of writing, June 2025) at the National Theatre any time.
3 stars.
Photo credit: Pamela Raith. Used by kind permission.