Frogs

Southwark Playhouse Borough

Actors give a high energy and comic performance of a Sondheim show, starring Kevin McHale. The content of the show lacks clarity and meaning, even when the tone is poignant and thought provoking.

Colourful, vibrant and grand, the best way to describe the setting of Frogs at Southwark Playhouse: It’s all about frogs… yet somehow there is only one number that the frogs are in and whilst they are clearly symbolic… it’s not quite clear what they are a symbol of. However, I can relate to the distaste of frogs.

The show is set in Athens and the two main characters, Dionysos and sidekick Xanthias go on a journey way down in Hadestown, way down under the ground. Their aim is to seek help from the past influential writers and bring them back to recover a collapsing, negative society and whilst this is an ancient tale retold… when it is set is unclear. It seems set in ancient times from the tone, but the writers they seek are Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw. Which, if you don’t already know, didn’t quite live Pre- Ancient Greece… not exactly close either.

Dan Buckley and Kevin McHale play the two lead characters Dionysos and Xanthias. They are great pair for narrating the show, as their personalities contrast each other rather well and they have a good standard of ability to jump between breaking the fourth wall and leaping back into the scene naturally. The whole cast perform as multiple characters well and bring something different to the table. They are all multi-talented, the dance technique, acting and singing was to a great standard. There were some fabulous group numbers, such as the iconic frog scene, where the whole cast perform as huge frogs!

The set was iconic and well done. There were stairs to signify the levels, and the curtains gave the idea of pillars. Pieces of the set were used to symbolise other items, such as a section of the stairs were used to present a boat. Set was designed by Libby Todd, who also designed the costume; which also complimented set to create the Greek environment. The cast wore togas/white coloured light clothing to create the setting, deeper colours and metallic/glitter showed the status. For instance, Pluto played by Victoria Shaw wears a black glitter play suit to show their divine character and Dan Buckley plays Dionysos and wears a gold neck accessory to show he is a higher status. The Frog costumes were unique and vibrant, a great addition.

The production as a whole was rather well produced, the cast are great, the creative elements are interesting and it feels the issue is in the content itself. Which brings down the level of the piece, as everything can be as well made and thought out, but if it isn’t clear to the audience, it isn’t as easy to appreciate and enjoy the piece. It's an enjoyable piece of theatre, it's just difficult to get your head around and feels there is an unclear, deeper and symbolic message. The cast and creative do go to lengths to make this piece enjoyable and funny. The piece is very long, dragged out; until the end... which seems rushed and unfinished.