The Frogs at Southwark Playhouse

It’s Ancient Greece, but the time is the present. Based loosely on an Ancient Greek play of the same name by Aristophanes, The Frogs was adapted for modern times by Stephen Sondheim and Burt Shevelove, turning it into a fun-loving musical. 

Dionysis, god of the theatre, is worried about the direction the world is going in. He talks about leaders lying and people just sitting around letting things happen instead of speaking up. He decides the world needs the great playwright, George Bernard Shaw, to shake people out of their funk by reflecting humanity back at them and showing them what they’re doing wrong. But Shaw is dead. So Dionysis travels to the underworld, with his trusty slave Xanthias in tow, to fetch Shaw and bring him back to the world of the living.

It’s an epic musical adventure that feels cosy and down-to-earth. While filled more with funny quips than action, it’s wonderfully witty and laugh-inducing from beginning to end.

The actual frogs metaphor (as the people of Athens who reject change and just want to sit in the mud) never really takes off. It’s only dabbled in in parts of the show without a full exploration. But the general message just about pulls through that the world is headed to bad places, and that we should be doing what we can to fix it, rather than being content in the mud.

In true Sondheim form, the music of The Frogs is lyrically intricate and full of impressive rhymes. But while it starts strong, many of the subsequent songs feel like filler, with occasional flashes of brilliance rather than Sondheim masterpieces, the likes of which are found in his other shows like West Side Story, Sweeney Todd and Into the Woods.

The performances are excellent and excellently choreographed. Dan Buckley is superb as Dionysos. And the big name in this, Kevin McHale of Glee fame, makes Xanthias his own. However, for an actor famous for a singing role, he’s given too few opportunities to really stretch his voice. But when he does, it’s really something. And it’s not just those two. The whole ensemble is really quite special, maintaining constant rhythmical movement and unleashing their beautiful voices.

While The Frogs might not reach the heights of some Sondheim musicals, this version is a good all-around show that’s full of laughs.

Jim Compton-Hall
Photos: Pamela Raith

The Frogs is at Southwark Playhouse from 23^rd May until 28^th June 2025. For further information or to book, visit the theatre’s website here.