Mythic Bodies, Avalon Café
Opening the one-night-only performance of Mythic Bodies at the Avalon Café in Bermondsey, Cristiano Benfenati, one of the co-creators of Roman Cowboy Productions, wryly described it as ‘the most interesting Greek-inspired production to come out in the past ten days’. It was a tongue-in-cheek nod to the remarkable resurgence of classical mythology currently sweeping popular culture. With Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey dominating conversation ahead of its release, retellings of the Classics seem to be everywhere. Perhaps this renewed fascination reflects our contemporary political anxieties, our cultural uncertainties or our tendency to frame conflict in increasingly epic terms. Wars rage across the globe while online discourse often resembles its own battlefield and public figures are encouraged to cultivate the vanity of Narcissus, the pride of Heracles and the vengefulness of Zeus.
Speaking to the cast and creative team a few days before the performance, I was struck by how each artist spoke about the enduring relevance of these ancient stories. Greek mythology continues to resonate because its central themes (love, betrayal, ambition, pride, jealousy, revenge and desire etc) remain deeply familiar. Yet Mythic Bodies suggests that these myths endure not because they reveal universal truths so much as because they continue to function as moral fables, constantly inviting reinterpretation through a contemporary lens.
What distinguishes Mythic Bodies from many recent classical adaptations is that it is not simply another retelling of familiar myths. Inspired by Ovid's Heroides, the anthology blends theatre, poetry and live music into a bold exploration of agency, womanhood and morality. Rather than following a conventional narrative, the production consists of six original monologues, each inspired by one of Ovid's heroines, which together offer a striking reimagining of women whose stories have too often existed only in relation to their legendary male counterparts.
Despite being structured around six individual performances, the production never feels fragmented. Each actress performs her own solo monologue on stage, whilst just offstage the others remain to occasionally add commentary or side-notes, in roles reminiscent of muses or perhaps even a traditional Greek chorus. They punctuate scenes with commentary, reactions, music and movement, in a sense dissecting the action before the audience. This device becomes one of the production's greatest strengths. It highlights the absurdity, injustice and emotional weight of the situations these women endured while simultaneously creating a powerful sense of female solidarity rarely found within the original myths. These women exist not simply because of the men who shape their destinies, but because of their relationships with themselves and with one another.
The production itself is remarkably ambitious. Created by six actors, three directors and one live musician and reportedly rehearsed in just ten days (Sam Bampoe-Parry actually stepped into the role to fill in for another actor and so had only five days to prepare!). The achievement is even more impressive considering the tiny performance space. The Avalon Café is far from a conventional theatre. Seating is limited, the stage barely accommodates the performers and elaborate scenery is impossible, but I really feel Roman Cowboy Productions worked well under these constraints. The set consists of only a handful of carefully chosen props (a table, wooden boxes, bowls of water and personal objects) which become surprisingly versatile throughout the evening. Costumes are similarly restrained yet highly expressive, each instantly defining its character without distracting from the performances. Lighting is sparse but effective, washing the space in flashes of blue, red and bright yellow in times of heightened emotions to emphasize grief, rage, violence, revelation and more. Accompanied throughout by Su Yeon Kim's live piano score, the production acquires a sense of theatrical scale that belies its intimate setting. The music lends tremendous emotional gravity while binding the six stories together into a cohesive whole.
The evening opens with Sappho, portrayed with remarkable intelligence and warmth by Sam Bampoe-Parry. Rather than treating the legendary poet as an untouchable historical figure, the script presents Sappho as startlingly relatable. The reflections on self-fashioning, artistic criticism and the complexity of human relationships feel very modern, while witty lines and moments of sharp self-awareness allow the audience to appreciate why Sappho remains one of history's greatest poets. Bampoe-Parry delivers the text with precision, wit and effortless charisma, making for an outstanding opening.
Liz Kent follows as Hypermnestra, one of the Danaids, forced alongside her forty-nine sisters into marriage before being ordered to murder her husband. Kent captures both the absurdity and horror of the myth. Dressed in a playful ‘bride-to-be’ outfit while preparing for the murder that will define her life, she reflects on conflict with biting contemporary humour: ‘There are no blood feuds anymore - you just block people’. Beneath the comedy lies a devastating commentary on women's proximity to male power and the reduction of female identity to wifehood. Kent balances humour with quiet vulnerability, revealing the impossible moral choices confronting her character.
Natalie Haven's Phyllis explores bitterness, abandonment and self-transformation through an inventive physical performance involving only a series of wooden boxes. The monologue becomes a meditation on the ways women reshape themselves to meet impossible expectations. Particularly compelling is its exploration of relationships between women as much as between lovers, exposing the pressures imposed by family, society and female peers alike.
Sarah Knoepfli's Hermione is perhaps the most overtly contemporary of the evening. Reimagined almost as a celebrity controlled by producers, public opinion and the men around her, Hermione becomes a fascinating study of female agency under constant scrutiny. The piece examines the impossible double standards placed upon women. Helen of Troy is immortalised for following passion, while her daughter is condemned for attempting the same. Knoepfli performs with impressive restraint, allowing Hermione's carefully cultivated indifference to gradually fracture and reveal profound emotional vulnerability.
Isabelle Dickey delivers one of the evening's most emotionally devastating performances as Canace. Framed as the heroine delivering her own eulogy moments before her execution, the monologue explores grief, sacrifice and the ways women become expendable within epic narratives. Dickey masterfully balances despair with flashes of dark humour and near-madness, preventing the tragedy from becoming melodramatic. The chorus' occasional interjections cleverly question whether Canace herself has internalised the theatrical expectations imposed upon tragic women.
The production concludes with Taylor Carmen's magnificent Ariadne. Rather than portraying the abandoned heroine as passive victim, Carmen gives her a fierce, almost feral energy. Her relationship with the Minotaur is radically reimagined, asking whether history's celebrated heroes deserve the reverence they receive and whether the supposed monsters have been unfairly condemned. It is an electrifying performance, full of physicality, anger and emotional precision, bringing the evening to an unforgettable conclusion.
Throughout the evening, the acting is consistently exceptional. Every performer commands the stage alone, yet contributes equally to the collective storytelling. The transitions between solo performance and chorus work are seamless, creating an ensemble production that feels larger than the sum of its parts. The performances are vivid, emotionally generous and technically accomplished, finding extraordinary depth within minimal theatrical means.
Ultimately, Mythic Bodies works so well because it understands that these women can and should be treated as so much more than footnotes in the adventures of legendary men. Rather than existing solely through fathers, husbands and heroes, they emerge here as fully realised individuals with complex emotional lives, relationships and desires of their own. Roman Cowboy Productions has transformed Ovid's heroines into contemporary voices without sacrificing the poetry or emotional resonance of the original texts.
For such a modest venue, the scale of the ambition is astonishing. Minimal scenery, simple costumes, restrained lighting and a live pianist combine with outstanding performances to create theatre that feels genuinely epic despite its intimacy. Bold, intelligent and deeply moving, Mythic Bodies demonstrates how much can be achieved through imagination rather than spectacle. It is an immensely impressive show from Roman Cowboy Productions and I for one am very excited to see what they create next.