Unmythable promised an ‘unforgettable blend of sketch comedy, cross-dressing, stories and songs’ but unfortunately, it didn’t deliver. Perhaps the fact that ‘cross-dressing’ is being used as a selling point for a show in 2019 says it all. It seems the show’s writer is less concerned with making something unforgettable and innovative and more concerned with hammering through all of the Greek myths with a bit of pantoesque comedy.
When the actors were left to shine, they were utterly hilarious
The show did have some excellent moments. When the actors were left to shine, they were utterly hilarious, able to chop and change between Greek Gods at the drop of a hat. Yet, in general, the underwhelming writing left me disappointed. Well-known myths that would have made great sketches were mentioned only in passing. Meanwhile, lengthy monologues and cheesy showtunes were given too much airtime. The jokes that did work, including a rather convincing Godfather impression, were left to go on too long and eventually lost their impact. On the positive side, the cast did give incredibly energetic and skilled physical performances, keeping up the energy in the room with a healthy dose of audience participation. But, despite being encouraged to bark like an argonaut (several times), by the end I found it difficult to join in the fun.
The all-female cast were generally excellent, and one of the show’s highlights came from the creation of the ‘first-man’ and then the ‘first-woman,’ Pandora, and the feminist critique of the Greek myths that ensued. Sadly, though, even this scene was a bit of an anti-climax. Tension was built around the presence of the infamous ‘Pandora’s box’ on centre-stage and then left hanging as the cast quickly moved on to the next musical number.
Equally disappointing was the massive range of accents used by the cast to signify a character-change. As the cast moved from Scottish, to Welsh, to Received Pronunciation, we were left more confused than entertained, especially as some of the actors seemed to struggle keep to one accent at a time.
While there was nothing subtle about the humour, the pairing of exaggerated sound effects with the cast’s talent for physical comedy was pretty entertaining. But, even if it did draw some raucous laughter from the crowd, it was not enough to sustain our interest for the entire hour. Saying that, with singing, dancing, rapping, novelty props and accents the show was definitely a lot of fun. I just can’t say that it was funny.
