I looked up what the touring company’s name actually means: Le Navet Bete translates to the daft turnip. What is meant to sound grand is actually rather ridiculous, which perfectly sums up Oh Zeus! Put your high-brow Christian Nolan-style Greek mythology away, and get ready for a show that’s closer to Fawlty Towers or Noises Off.
Le Navet Bete (Nick Bunt, Al Dunn, and Matt Freeman) play all of the characters on stage, but they each have some key roles. Dunn plays Zeus and any role that gives him an excuse to show off his pecs, Bunt is Gregg and any character that’s a bit ridiculous, and Freeman is Moussaka and any of the main female roles.
Act One focuses on Zeus trying to stop Gregg from marrying his daughter Hebe by faking his own death, but when things go wrong, he has to go to hell in Act Two to save the wedding. On his journey, Zeus learns that everyone thinks he’s a plonker, apart from Gregg. It follows the classic Greek tragedy of a fall from glory, but in a comedy, will Zeus earn his comeback or receive his comeuppance?
The farce has everything you’d expect of a show like this. Freeman has to run up a slide in a three-headed dog costume, Bunt as the centaur flings his droppings at the audience, and Dunn gets Freeman’s backside in his face as he plays dead.
There are a few songs thrown into the show which are all a bit of a mess, but the Bat Out of Hell finale makes up for it all. The audio balance was sadly off and so our cast were drowned out by the backing track with Dunn’s mic dropping off now and again.
The script is full of funny innuendo for adults, and farting and burping sounds for kids. I didn’t envy the parent behind me who had to explain what the word ‘infidelity’ meant. The show feels like it would work better as a pantomime rather than a farce, and a singalong could have saved us from listening to a song about nuts.
It’s especially fun when an audience member gets dragged up on stage to help out, and when Gregg monologues to the audience, it instantly softens us to the character. These scenes give the same feel as panto (and that’s no bad thing). In fact, the show would be even better with more audience involvement. The audience are clearly here to enjoy the show, so I’d encourage La Navet Bete to lean in fully, add more slapstick, and get the crowd cheering and booing.
The three guys work hard with their breakneck-paced costume and character changes, but as fast as they go, there are sometimes some sluggish points. At the end of scenes one character is often left trying to keep the joke going while the other two finish slipping off their togas and strapping into sandals, sometimes it’s magic, sometimes it’s tragic.
Every character is quirkily distinctive. They borrowed the character of Manuel from Fawlty Towers when they wrote Moussaka in, and it works really well. His ventriloquist act, unicycling, and stripping Zeus of his toga are all brilliant moments. Freeman’s range of bizarre accents and falsetto is impressive. The costume for Cerebus really does get the audience chuckling at poor Freeman in his dog mask.
This is a trouser-free performance. There are towel drops, naked tumbles out of wardrobes and shiny speedos galore. These guys know that the joke is meant to be on them and they lean into it, teasing each other on stage where possible, and at times, even falling off the stage. If Dunn’s poorly tanned butt cheeks aren’t on show, what’s the point in the scene?
They really do master the humour. The fast-paced comedy where the scene repeats but in new ways, and always getting more humorous with each iteration are a staple in this show. In addition, the Moussaka and Gregg pronunciation scene of Mrs. Papadopoulos could have gone on forever and still been funny.
The show has an Act Two problem because with Gregg missing for most of it we lose our most likeable character. Dunn keeps the show moving with Zeus’s quest (a long, convoluted and really pointless journey, which of course is the point of a farce). He isn’t very likeable as a character and never really becomes that heroic. I think they wanted him as a love-to-hate character from what I read in the programme, but he never achieves it.
I have great admiration for this company, they’ve put together an impressive show with a fantastic set. If three grown men want to make fools of themselves for our enjoyment, then who are we to judge, in fact, all the more reason to indulge them.
Oh Zeus! is currently on tour and will be at the Queen’s Theatre, Hornchurch, until 10 October 2026.
Review: James Dix Photos: Mark Senior