Review: THESPIANS: GREECE THE MUSICAL (BUT NOT THAT ONE) - HOME Manchester (08/07/26)

Ancient Greek comedy romp proves surprisingly underwhelming, in a rare miss for Mischief

-----

As we witness the premiere of their first ever musical, it's clear that Mischief Theatre really did take the idea of "let's start at the very beginning" and run with it, taking us all the way back to Thespis, often considered the first ever actor, as a man who broke the mould and revolutionised theatre as we know it over two and a half millennia ago. This of course isn't the first time the ancient Greek poet has been portrayed on stage, and it feels apt that Mischief should follow in the footsteps of renowned operetta pairing W. S. Gilbert & Arthur Sullivan, who also wrote of Thespis in the very first musical work they penned as a duo. Mighty shoes to fill indeed, but over 150 years later, have the team behind "The Play That Goes Wrong" proven that they can succeed in any genre to which they set their minds?

Our action takes place in 534 B.C.E, there is a 30-day drought on the island of Ikaria, and to break said drought, we follow a group of five Greek islanders led by poet Thespis who, during a prayer competition to appease the god Dionysus, inadvertently invents the art of acting; all this under the watchful eye of the Tyrant, who has threatened them all with death should they fail. The premise has all the potential hallmarks of a classic musical farce, combining millennia-old characters and notions with modern scoring, staging and humour, which begs the question: where on earth did they go so wrong?

The company of "Thespians" (credit: Mark Senior)

It's entirely possible that the medium of musical theatre simply doesn't align with Mischief's unique style of humour, since there is absolutely no denying that they are some of the foremost of their generation when it comes to comic writing, however one couldn't help but feel like many of the comedic moments, either through a lack of subtlety or intellect, or just failure to dodge going for the obvious, simply missed the mark when considering their usual standards. There were some jokes that elicited audible groans, others that you can see coming from a mile off, especially in the well-meaning but weird act two number "Old man tango"; overall it just feels like the book and lyrics have been severely under-developed, as this was far from the rip-roaring, thigh-slapping hilarity that we have come to expect from Mischief over the years.

Comedy aside though, the biggest issue is with the plot itself which, with the best will in the world, is at times mind-numbingly generic, suffers from playing it far too safe, utilising tired, overused tropes, and lacking in any real spark that we have come to expect from prior projects. Not only this, but its pacing is rather askew, in some instances feeling like it drags a fair bit, and it certainly could do with being trimmed down to aid in its flow, as too often the momentum is punctured by laborious exchanges and stagnant transitions. That isn't to say that there weren't moments of enjoyment, because there were numerous glimpses peppered around of what this show could be, and you can feel the heart that has gone into this project, it just feels like further tweaks are needed to really realise its potential.

The biggest positives from this production though came from those on stage, with actors and musicians alike giving their all to delight and entertain everyone present, and although not everyone on stage was a natural comic actor, there were definitely major standouts making the most of the material with which they had to work. Rhys Taylor is a comedy writer's dream, their charisma and comic timing filled the stage every time they showed up as the Tyrant, and Allie Dart proves a force of nature once again, able to effortlessly charm her audience, and never shying away from the joke even when it doesn't land.

Allie Dart and Rhys Taylor (credit: Mark Senior)

Without a shadow of a doubt though, Claire-Marie Hall was the star of the show as Thespis' bookish sister Poly, backing up her performance in "Operation Mincemeat" with another performance of marvellous quality, wonderful silliness yet solemnity, and outstanding vocals to boot; she fully owns that stage even when she's hiding in the background, proving that her broadway debut last year was no fluke. It should also be pointed out that the music itself is actually very well composed by Ed Zander, though the orchestration often felt like it needed beefing out a little more.

It is never nice to end on a sour note, but it has to be said that it is always majorly disappointing when any exponent of the creative industries use artificially generated material in their productions, as sadly this left a bitter taste in the mouth, and just leads one to think why are these shortcuts being made, if not to rush a production to the stage? All the use of AI in theatre does is undermine the inherent humanity of the art form, and majorly diminish its creative integrity, for which director Robyn Grant and designer Jasmine Swan must shoulder a considerable degree of condemnation.

As promising as this one was in theory, one cannot ignore the fact that this is far from Mischief's best work, and I am sure there will be conversations to be had as to the future of this musical, whose heart was in the right place, but ultimately ended up all at sea.

★★☆☆☆ (2*)

"Thespians" runs at HOME Manchester until the 18th of July (tickets)

{PR/Gifted Tickets}