Always Aphrodite is a spoken word show lasting an hour and is being performed in Whistlebinkies as part of PBH’s Free Fringe.
The show is centred around the idea of a livestream gone wrong, in which the audience is asked to help Phillip Melchers summon the Goddess Aphrodite (played by Lauren Maxwell) in order to answer questions about love. After fielding some questions from both the audience and Melchers, Aphrodite departs early from the livestream to be replaced by Lauren Maxwell, who talks about her experiences and relationship to love.
Always Aphrodite offers a more realistic insight into the romance people see on social media. It also gives a much more sympathetic telling of some of Aphrodite’s most famous myths, which usually place her as an antagonist.
While acting as Aphrodite, Maxwell is loud, funny, and flirty – everything that one would expect from the Goddess of love – and this is a stark and powerful contrast to when they appear as just Lauren. As Lauren, they have the same charisma, but much more subdued, and they are utterly captivating as they tell the audience of their experience as a photographer at Disneyland.
Melchers and Maxwell have a lot of natural chemistry that makes their interactions during the show all the more enjoyable to watch – especially when Aphrodite is telling some of her myths and brings Melchers into the narrative in the roles of Zeus, Ares, and Adonis.
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Always Aphrodite merges an alternative perspective on the classic Greek myths we know and love with the modern age. It will leave audiences with a new appreciation for love in all its forms and an encouragement for everyone to understand that they are enough just as themselves. It’s as thoughtful as it is funny, and a show that I would highly recommend.
