FOUR stars
IF you have never
ventured to the Blue Elephant Theatre in Camberwell you should.
Tucked away on Bethwin Road in the middle of a housing estate, it may
not be on the main drag but it packs a punch in the shows it puts on.
And it's got another
winner with Myths, a glorious take on the myths and legends of
ancient Greece.
Staged by theatre
company Hammer & Tongs it features just three actors on the stage
in black T shirts and white dungarees with a lone musician at the
back.
The three actors play
the Fates, a rather posh trio who are getting on a bit now and living
in the Underworld. They enjoy endless cups of tea and biscuits and
love nothing better than retelling their favourite stories about the
characters who inhabit the legends.
And so as they spin the
threads of life, they also bring back to life a variety of characters
from Zeus and Io, to Orpheus and Eurydice, the Harpies, Medusa and
her stylists, Sisyphus and Paris as well as providing a different
view on what really started the Trojan war.
Along the way we not
only see some re-imagined takes on the stories, we also find out
where words such as "harpy" and "fate" come from.
The show itself is a
funny and a relatively quick romp through some these classic and
fabulous stories.
It is also a clever and
inventive way of retelling them although some of the humour may be a
bit old for some of the younger members of the audience.
The performers, Suzie
Grimsdick, Oliver Yellop and Philippa Hambly, are fabulous and switch
between all the different characters convincingly, quickly and with
an astonishing ease.
And the musical
accompaniment by George Mackenzie-Lowe is lovely.
It is a delightful show
suitable for those aged 10 and over.
Myths is on at the Blue
Elephant Theatre, Bethwin Road until December 6. Tickets are £12.50,
£10 concessions and £8.50 for Southwark residents. Visit
www.blueelephanttheatre.co.uk or call the box office on 020 7701
0100.
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