Greek comedies are known for their satirical tone and for mocking men in power for their vanity and foolishness. The first master of comedy, arguably, was the playwright Aristophanes and it is his work Lysistrata that The Court Youth Company has adapted, using contemporary music and costuming, with direction from Holly Chappell. 

This ribald adaptation makes clever use of limited space to powerful effect.  Audience members are led through a war-zone en route to the performance space.  The sensory overload of the chaos and destruction of the war-zone sets us up well to hear Lysistrata’s denunciation of war and its futility, its cruelty in robbing women of husbands and sons, and girls of lovers. 

The intimate space leaves us nowhere to hide, both during delightfully awkward moments of toe curling comedy and the exuberance of the performers.

The contrast between the male and female Chorus is delightfully articulated by both the costuming and adept characterisations. The cast waste no time in showing us the buffoonery of the men which is to the advantage of the wiser and wilier women who soon play to the classic theme of reversal in switching roles with the men and gaining the upper hand. 

The text has been adapted without losing any of the essential themes; clarity of characterisation and narrative is retained and presented well.

It’s hard to single out performers for a single mention as the whole cast are worthy of praise, but if I were pressed to do so, I’d give a nod to the portrayal of the magistrate who so accurately conveys the pervasive myth that women who desire the same power as men are subversive and dangerous: sadly a myth as prevalent today as it was over 2,000 years ago. The cheeky and irreverent Myrrhine is a delight.

According to the flyer, the focus of this adaptation is to discover the point of connection between the text, the performers, the audience and society and to explore feminine power, sexuality and gender politics in a way that is fun, young and vibrant.  In my opinion the CYC team achieves this in spades. Lysistrata is a delightfully exuberant and colourful production which romps along to a delicious climax.

These girls don’t need their men to tell them what they want, what they really really want. They know what they want, and they know how to get it. 

I tip my pileus to you, CYC, and say a job well done indeed; you have certainly spiced up my Thursday evening – Girl Power!  

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