The Frogs Review

Reviewed by Alice 

Stephen Sondheim is known for many a classic: 'Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street', 'Follies', 'Sunday in the Park with George'...but 'The Frogs' is somewhat of a rarity.

Photo by Pamela Raith Photography

After their acclaimed revival of Sondheim's classic 'Anyone Can Whistle', The Grey Area Theatre Company brings 'The Frogs' to the Southwark Playhouse, the little gem of a theatre.

The story follows Dionysos and a collapsing society. Dionysos heads to the Underworld, hoping to persuade Hades to bring someone back to life who might save humanity. This 'somebody' is the theatre writer George Bernard Shaw, but chaos swiftly ensues and what begins as a heroic quest quickly spirals into something far slimier.

Enter The Frogs who block the River Styx, the river that serves as the boundary between the living and the dead. Being quite conservative, these frogs are unwilling for anything to change. A metaphorical physicalisation of humanity itself.

As Dionysos battles to save humanity, he must dare to ask; can the arts save us, and save humility?

The theatre space at Southwark is a delight and when a group know how to work it, it's an amazing venue for theatre.

Photo by Pamela Raith Photography

The set was basic but well used, with a moveable front stage, good use of the stairs, and the orange drops made the staging look elegant and rich.

The costume was equally basic but definitely did the job.

'The Frogs' was directed by Georgie Rankcom, who with her actors worked the space well. The choreography was slick and well put together with a wonderful energy. Dancing in frog outfits did NOT look easy at all!

The singing standard was very good and the harmonies tight.

My concerns began with the actual story which I found weak and padded, with overused jokes. In fact, Act Two dragged so noticeably that by the end of the play, I felt it should've been edited into a much snappier one-act. Notably the scene between Shakespeare and George Bernard Shaw was, unfortunately, very dull.

 

Kevin McHale plays Xanthias and definitely knows the character, or at least, knows how the director wished it to be, but in many ways the overly unbothered delivery choice became tiresome and fell short of entertaining.

Dan Buckley plays Dionysus and does great job, hitting all the right notes of comedic timing and energy. His song in "Ariadne" was a real highlight.

There were some other nice performances; Carl Patrick as Charon and Joaquin Pedro Valdes as Herakies were fun with nice comedy elements, as well as Victoria Scone's Pluto. In the main, this was an ensemble cast - and a good one.

When a piece is rarely performed, I always question the reasons why? And why some plays fade into the background. Why a person like Sondheim - who is widely considered a genius - has a musical that just isn't performed that much? With 'The Frogs', I simply think it is a piece of sluggish theatre, drawn out to hit the two-act mark. The music doesn't particularly stand out, and songs like "I Love To Travel" are not fun enough to be repeated in Act One as much as it was. The opening song was average with little to no hard hitting points. 

Photo by Pamela Raith Photography

There are great stories to be had when looking into the world of Greek mythology, but you need to make it your own. This does feel - as it largely is - unoriginal.

For Stephen Sondheim fans this is a great opportunity to see a show which, as I've already stated, is a rarity to be performed. I applaud The Grey Area Theatre Company for bringing something different to what can feel like a world of the same old rehashed shows. It would be wonderful to see more companies take a chance on the obscure, although, this time, 'The Frogs' just didn't hit the mark for me.

⭐️⭐️⭐️.5 

The Frogs runs at Southwark Playhouse Borough until Saturday 28th June 2025. Tickets are available from https://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/the-frogs/