Awwmargod! Effie’s heading to the Capital!

GREEK goddess Effie Stephanidis is set to grace the Capital Theatre this July, with a new show about the “mental as anything” last two years.

Effie, the alter-ego of long-time performer Mary Coustas, is bringing her unique view of life, persistent vanity and big hair to Bendigo for her Better Out Than In show.

Coustas said the show was born out of the COVID-19 pandemic, and she is thrilled to finally be back on stage after a turbulent period.

“I’ve become very accustomed to performing and having the freedom to do a show every year and make that a place where I get my social oxygen,” she said.

“With my Effie shows I improvise and get to know my audience every night, to have that severed by this pandemic was really difficult. It struck me how accustomed and spoilt I’d been by that freedom.”

Coustas has been performing as the loud-mouth hairdresser Effie since 1987, first appearing in the Nick Giannopoulos play Wogs Out Of Work and TV show Acropolis Now. In 1993 she won the Logie Award for Most Popular Comedy Personality.

Coustas said the Bendigo audience can expect to see a more evolved Effie, but still full of the relatability and extroversion they know and love, as she recounts how the pandemic has affected her.

“She’s evolved but there’s enough there that’s so familiar,” Coustas said. “She’s not a nostalgic act, she might evoke nostalgia because when we meet someone, we always remember how we met them.

“But she’s travelled so well through the eras, even though her brand is her hair, her glamour and her attitude, she talks about a lot of the stuff that is very current. Her perspective is hilarious and relevant.”

Better Out Than In plays on Friday, 8 July. For tickets head to maryandeffie.com/tour.