Kings of comedy Le Navet Bete – one of the UK’s most-loved comedy theatre companies and creators of smash-hit family shows Dracula: The Bloody Truth, King Arthur and Treasure Island – are coming back to Lighthouse with Oh Zeus!, their riotous, hilarious ride through the world of Greek mythology, on Friday 25 September.
Three actors play 40 characters in this mythical farce forward through Ancient Greece, the Underworld, and back. Here, the cast – Matt Freeman, Nick Bunt and Al Dunn – answer some of our questions…
What excites you most about bringing Oh Zeus! to audiences for the first time?
Matt: I love bringing the chaos and this show is full of it. I hope this will introduce audiences to a whole new level of silliness.
Nick: There is a certain magic in seeing how people react to our unique brand of chaos and mayhem. We’ve taken these legendary characters and made them completely ridiculous, channelling the storytelling of the Greek myths but putting our own spin on the narrative. Hearing those belly laughs from the crowd is a buzz you just can’t replicate anywhere else.
Al: There’s a scene where I essentially play a corpse, and it’s absolutely mad. It’s taken so much rehearsal to get it right, but it’s going to be amazing. It’s physical, it’s fast, it’s chaotic, there’s fire… I can’t wait for audiences to experience that.
Who’s your favourite character in Oh Zeus!
Matt: Moussaka – he’s just such an idiot and a joy to play.
Nick: There are so many to choose from! Zeus is great. He goes on a real journey and is definitely the guy you love to hate but love. Then there’s his wife, Hera. Their relationship dynamic is how I’d imagine a certain US President and his wife to be behind closed doors! On the flip side Gregg is just the nicest man stuck in the middle of all the madness. And speaking of madness, Hades is so much fun to play!
Al: I play some really good ones, but I think it’s got to be Zeus. I really like playing a rascal; someone who’s not a villain but has villainous traits – morally ambiguous.
What do you think will be your biggest challenge performing in Oh Zeus!
Matt: The costume changes! There are so many and they are so quick.
Nick: For us, this show is essentially a marathon. With the sheer volume of costume changes, lines and props, every second has to be perfectly choreographed to a precise rhythm for the comedy to land as intended. What the audience sees as ‘uncontrolled chaos’ is actually rehearsed to within an inch of its life. It’s an exhausting brain-scramble but it’s an absolute riot to perform.
Al: The biggest challenge on this show will be making sure we go through the right door – we’ve got this amazing set with loads of multi-doors, which is great for this style of work, but remembering backstage which one we have to enter through will be difficult. Thankfully we’ve got an amazing stage manager who will literally point us and push us through the right door, so we’re lucky to have that support.
Why do you love working as part of Le Navet Bete?
Matt: I love being part of people’s shared experiences. Families and friends coming together to laugh and have a great laugh together and create memories.
Nick: It’s the shorthand. We’ve been together for so long now – nearly 20 years! – that we have an almost telepathic connection on stage. We know exactly how to make each other laugh – and how to push each other’s buttons in the best possible way. It’s a brotherhood built on absolute silliness and hard work. And I love the shared adventure of it all. Touring to so many incredible places across the UK and internationally means we’re constantly experiencing new audiences and cultures together.
Al: I like the variation of the work we do. We put everything in our shows – dance, song, comedy, drama – I really like having a show that does everything. We also get to play in various parts of the country and in very different theatres. That variety is important to me; I’m someone who gets bored easily and doesn’t like doing the same thing again and again, so working with Le Navet Bete means I get to do loads of different stuff all the time.
What’s the funniest thing that’s happened to you on stage?
Matt: I once fell off the front of the raised stage in a coffin.
Nick: I have fallen off the stage a number of times, most recently at the Salisbury Playhouse when performing Treasure Island. I walked the plank and jumped, the lights went out – end of Act One – and I promptly fell straight off the front of the stage trying to get into the wings before the house lights came up to reveal me floundering around by the audience in the front row. I think I was the only one laughing!
Al: I was once jumping over Matt doing the splits and my trousers split right up the bum, after which I had to change the blocking for the scene to make sure I didn’t flash the audience.
:: Oh Zeus plays Lighthouse on Friday 25 September. Tickets available at https://www.lighthousepoole.co.uk/event/oh-zeus/ and on 01202 280000.