Writer: Lady Aria Grey
Director: Dan Wye
This is a fun ‘unofficial’ parody of Grease the Musical. The story reimagines the fun summer-loving Grease in Ancient Greece. Instead of the beloved characters of Danny and Sandy, Zeus and Hera do the hand jive. Other well-known Greek Gods appear like Athena, Ares, Hephaestus, and Aphrodite. They form the two main friend groups who must try to overcome the Fates.
The original Grease story is brought back into the past with this campy and sexually liberating story. Each actor owns the stage as they joke, tease and thrust their hips through a unique but recognisable story. The actors are very self-aware that this production is fun and silly. To fully pull this sort of show off, they put their heart into their acting and perfectly bring a nice mix of comedy and musical numbers into a nearly three-hour performance.
There is a stage, but it extends like a runway. This runway breaks the audience up into two sides. The middle of the runway is where a majority of the dialogue, dancing and singing occurs. Those who sit on either end will still have a great experience and see what happens, but they may have to stretch their neck a bit at times. The actors use the full length of the stage to interact with members of the audience.
There are some wonderful nods to both Ancient Greek mythology and the well-known 1978 Grease movie. A great example of the blending of the two is found in their outfits. The contemporary sporty and gladiatorial outfits easily show the Ancient Greek theme, and the pink capes on the ladies highlight the famous pink ladies. Philippa Leadbetter as Hera dresses in a yellow dress honouring Olivia Newton-John’s famous look from the movie. She also does a ridiculous Aussie accent, not only to honour Newton-John but to add to the humour.
Some of the music is shifted around, and the tougher-looking Hera, who is supposed to appear at the end of the play, makes an appearance earlier in the second act. The Fates are the main villains of this production, creating chaos and altering everyone’s story. As such, this production allows the characters time to fight the Fates. This means that many of the characters end up with someone different. This is well done, but the production does go on a tad too long by the end, finishing just under three hours, 40 minutes longer than advertised. This is not necessarily an issue, as the actors never lose steam and continue to give their all to each number.
Greece is the word, indeed.
Runs until 31 May 2026
