Mary Coustas and Effie are up themselves
Image: Effie (Mary Coustas). Image: supplied
Mary Coustas — better known as her alter ego, the big-haired, big-mouthed, big-hearted, Effie — has been a mainstay in Australian entertainment for over three decades. Her candid, deceptively intellectual comedy combines considered thought with Greek hubris; she delivers minced balls of wisdom wrapped in vine leaves of citric humour.
“I think comedy makes it easier for us to approach every subject,” says Coustas. “It forces us to look at it from a different point of view. I think its primary function is to relieve pressure. And also to speak the truth — and sometimes there’s nothing more illuminating and entertaining than the truth. If you can do both at the same time, I think that’s great value and I think that’s what the best comedy does.”
And that’s what Mary Coustas does.
After helping us through the Covid pandemic (as Effie) and sharing the anguish and ecstasy of being a daughter and mother (as herself), Coustas (as Effie) is once again commandeering stages up and down the East Coast with her new show, UpYourselfness.
In this show, as always, Effie arm-wrestles with the English language, and she’s not afraid to dig in with her sabre-sharp, manicured nails. Her issue is with the barbed-wire fences of etiquette that have been placed around speech to render it harmless.
“Language is very tricky now…and the English language and [Effie] have always had their issues,” says Coustas.
“I have to admit that I am pro political correctness and I’m pro freedom of speech. And I think we can be two things at once, in fact we’re many things at once. I think life can become very combative when we’re expected to be only thing.”
Coustas believes the current climate of conservatism puts constraints on speech and behaviour, not allowing for open and diverse discussion. Language is in constant flux; words that once meant one thing, now mean something completely different. Many words can’t even be uttered anymore. Not only that, but vocabulary has become a tool, even a weapon, in the hands of some.
“It’s hard to spot and it’s hard to call out when someone is being racist these days because they know the words to use…and that’s far more dangerous,” says Coustas.
By not being able to express ourselves freely, we are not able to be ourselves authentically; emotions are suppressed and it creates an atmosphere of paranoia, suspicion.
Comedy, however, is a release valve for this social pressure cooker; it allows alternate views to be expressed. Coustas’ brand of comedy is thought-provoking and challenging.
“I think it’s my job to help bring clarity. I’m not a sage, I’m not some huge philosopher, but I’m a person who tends to think about the things that stop us from having healthy lives and stop us from expressing and revealing who we are in a healthy way. So I think, comedy is the most sort-after way of doing that. And I know some of the bigger comics worldwide have said that it’s one of the last safe places where you can talk about that sort of stuff… and it’s not immune either.”
In UpYourselfness, Effie tackles the theme of language, something with which she herself has a complex relationship. Effie sees herself as a vanguard and a champion for those who feel suppressed.
“I’m their mouthpiece. And even though I’m not great with words, I’m great with feelings and ideas,” says Effie. She believes that her Greek heritage has instilled in her a persistence to keep asking questions to get closer to the truth, something that is discouraged these days.
“In this current environment, you can’t be asking questions, you can’t be sniffing around other versions of the truth because apparently there’s only one,” she says. “If you’re secure in who you are and what you believe, what do you care if someone has a different opinion?”
That last comment sums up the central tenet of the show.
“The only immunity we have left in this world, certainly in the last five years, is being up yourself, is knowing who you are, knowing what your intention is and feeling confident in that,” explains Coustas, interjecting for a moment.
Effie agrees.
“Loving yourself isn’t vanity, it’s sanity.”
UpYourselfness might sound heavy, but the show is actually super funny, Coustas assures. What Effie brings to the debate, apart from razor wit and lots of hair product, is her own unique, honest, well-intentioned, female, Greek, iconic perspective.
“A character survives for 35 years because we know her, and we get to see her, and she’s not embarrassed,” says Coustas. “She’s not embarrassed about being human.”
