THE FROGS

from the play by Aristophanes

Aristophanes wrote The Frogs in 405 BC, when Athens was on the point of losing the long war against Sparta. Dionysus and his slave Xanthias travel down to the Underworld (facing several farcical ordeals on the way),hoping to bring the recently-dead playwright, Euripides, back to life. Dionysus was patron of drama (as well as god of wine) and he believes that Euripides can help to save Athens.

In the Underworld, Dionysus is invited to judge a competition between Euripides and Aeschylus (another playwright who died fifty years earlier) to decide which is the best and which of them will return to earth

The Frogs is still funny after two and a half thousand years.

This version updates the jokes (many of which were hilarious in 405 BC but are not understood today) and introduces pantomime elements.

Running time: about 75 minutes.

Available from the author.

Click here to request further details or to order a reading copy.

Characters: 13, with two Choruses, each of 15 in Aristophanes’s day. So it is possible to accommodate a very large cast for a school performance. Alternatively, it can be performed with just a fraction of that number. The original never had more than 4 onstage at a time, so doubling of parts is easy. Several characters appear once and not again. And the Chorus of Frogs can reappear as the Chorus of Distinguished Dead Athenians. They can be reduced to as few as you like.

Extract:

Enter Dionysus and Xanthias. Dionysus wears a yellow robe, with a lion-skin on top, trying to look like Heracles (who also travelled to the Underworld). Xanthias is riding a donkey, and he holds lots of luggage, mostly over his shoulder.

Dionysus: Observe holy silence, O ye citizens!

Xanthias: That means, Be quiet, you lot!

Dionysus: I share your grief. The city faces crisis.

I come to aid you, I, Lord Dionysus.

And in this time of utter destitution

Olympian gods may offer a solution.

Xanthias: Oh, come on, don’t talk in rhyme to these people. They’ll get bored.

Dionysus: (Pompous) They have come here for an evening of Greek culture.

Xanthias: Oh, no they haven’t. They’ve come here for a few cheap laughs. Where do you think this is? [Suggest local arts theatre] This lot doesn’t want culture.

Dionysus: Oh, yes they do.

Xanthias: Oh, no they don’t.

Audience: Oh, no we don’t.

Xanthias: So, if any of you think you’ve come for an evening of culture, I should go home now. This is the pantomime version of Aristophanes.

Dionysus: Oh, no, it isn’t.

Xanthias: Oh, yes it is!

Frogs drawn by Simon Bond