Have you ever heard 9-5 in Greek? How about The Final Countdown? I hadn’t either – until I sat down for the Thespians pre-show. Mischief Comedy’s latest show, and first musical, takes us back to Ancient Greece: a cross between Horrible Histories, pantomime and early 2000s pop musical, Thespians is what Mischief does best, borrowing from other forms of theatre to make something uniquely their own.
The show centres on Thespis and the inhabitants of the impoverished island that he lives on. The rain has not fallen for five months, and in order to avoid a revolt the Tyrant decides that people from all parts of Greece must come to Athens and compete in a prayer-writing competition, to win over the God Dionysus and bring the wet weather back.
Together, Thespis and his friends and family invent a new form of prayer, and theatre is born. Fame is a dangerous thing, however, and the group face difficulties after people discover their new artform.
There are not enough words allowed in this article to describe how utterly delightful the cast for this show are. First up, we have some fantastic homegrown talent: Claire-Marie Hall shines as Thespis’ clever but self-doubting sister, Poly, and Rhys Taylor stuns as the panto-esque villain Tyrant. If any of your little ones are wondering what’s possible to achieve if you’re from Wales, take them to see this show.
The Mischief veterans are also a complete joy. Matt Cavendish and Allie Dart bring a fantastic BBC sketch comedy vibe to narrators Bard and Rhapsodes. Matt Pickering is hysterical as the over-inflated Adonis, Mia Jerome brings a wonderfully chaotic grounding energy as village elder Melampus, and James Spence and Luke Latchman bring a gorgeous softness as lovers Thespis and Atlas.
The show’s cast are fantastic and it’s great to see live musicians onstage. However, the fairly obvious use of AI-generated images for banners and side props (which I’m far from the first person to pick up on) soured the experience for me somewhat; we waited for a tongue-in-cheek reference to it, but none came. Sure, AI can be a useful tool in the creation of work, and support artists doing complex things in short amounts of time. Using it instead of paying illustrators, renting sets or simply doing without isn’t a great look for a company built on the skill and technical precision of its human team.
With that being said, that is a small part of what is clearly a very human show, with a very talented human cast and creative team. Jonathan Sayer and Ed Zanders have collaborated to write a musical with heart, wit and charm; Zanders’ music is particularly strong, and it leaves you with a feelgood energy that lasts well after you leave.
Thespians, New Theatre, Cardiff, Tue 23 June
On until Sat 27 June. Tickets: from £21.50. Info: here
words HARI BERROW
