Mary Coustas: This is Personal – REVIEW

Most people know and love her as the unfiltered, big-haired Effie, and Mary Coustas doesn’t mind that. She created Effie to be the version of herself who takes no crap, speaks her mind freely, and suffers no embarrassment. Effie helped Coustas be someone else when it was too painful to be herself. 

In her solo show, This Is Personal, Coustas shares this little factoid about Effie, as well as some truly profound anguish, some Greek-tragedy level  pathos, and, of course, lots of warm, relatable humour. 

A seasoned artist, Coustas is natural and relaxed on stage and instantly builds rapport with the audience. Her anecdotes featuring the antics of a fairly typical immigrant family clearly resonate with many people, while the more idiosyncratic things she shares are both startling and hilarious. 

Effie makes the occasional “appearance”, at least in voice, and there are various other real life personalities who we meet through Coustas’ priceless impersonations. 

There is mirth but there is also deep sadness in what Coustas bravely shares in this candid memoir: her sense of loss for the father whom she adored and who died too young; her many repeated attempts to conceive a child through IVF before finally giving birth to a daughter; the bitter-sweet sting of being a late-life mother as she imagines her daughter in a future without her. 

No matter how far in the past the hurts are, no matter how many times she has performed this same routine, it’s clear the emotions are still raw for Coustas, and she’s not afraid to let them show. 

Coustas is animated and very physical on stage. With only a few simple props for support, she creates vivid scenarios and helps us see other characters in the scene with her. She is a master of language and has some beautiful turns of phrase, unique use of metaphors, and keen ear for idioms. 

Mary Coustas is one of this country’s rare and special talents and this is a show in which she shares all of them generously. 

Until June 17

The Concourse, 409 Victoria Ave, Chatswood

maryandeffie.com