Lysistrata, Aristophanes, Actors of Dionysus, The Rose, Kingston
Rambunctious. An anti-war play with a difference….No sex please, we’re British…in an end of pier style which is fresh, funny, and when it needs to be, serious. Actors of Dionysus do a great job with a pared down company of five – though this is stretched to the point of incredulity when the male and female chorus unite. Names have been changed to Luce, Claire but the ribaldry of the men’s ardent desire and the women’s sex ban is pure Aristophanes; and in this sense this production is a glorious study in comedy. The plot is deceptively simple: the women withdraw their favours until the men renounce war and sign a peace treaty. Yet while this is done by the end of the play it is not long before Athens and Sparta spate and goad each other again……The humour is knockabout, scatological but never crass; a must for followers of the forum, Frankie Howard and those that like their humour more Beryl Cook than Oscar Wilde……
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