Big hair, big laughs, big ideas: Effie takes on Geelong

Larger-than-life Greek goddess Effie Stephanidis will bring her big hair, propensity for malapropisms and even bigger personality to Geelong Arts Centre next year for her very first Geelong show.

Effie, the alter-ego of comedian Mary Coustas, will hit the stage on January 15 with UpYourselfness, a “much-needed comical multivitamin” that tackles what she describes as the ongoing “ugly bitch-fight between political correctness and freedom of speech”.

“I’m not anti-political correctness. I think its objective is to help human beings evolve and become a bit more aware of others, not just themselves.

“But I’m also a big fan of freedom of speech and I’m not a fan of people hiding behind politically correct words.

“People have learned how to mask their words in a condom of political correctness, and it’s not ribbed for our pleasure.”

The show will invite the audience to tackle some of the hard questions and, in the tradition of the ancient Greek philosophers whom Effie regards as her peers, celebrate the art of arguing as the pathway towards truth.

“There’s nothing more entertaining, certainly comically, than the truth,” Coustas said.

“Yeah, it’s confronting, but it’s also the thing that helps us evolve and that links us together.”

And what of the inspiration for the show’s title?

“The only immunity we have left is self-belief,” Coustas said.

“We have to preserve us, our heart, our soul and get through as uncompromised as possible.

“I see it in my mother. My mother’s 85 and she’s the most UpYourself person you’ll ever meet. She’s short, she’s size 18, she’s not particularly attractive. She’s got the best personality you’ll ever find.

“She’s not going to sit and bow to celebrity or royalty or money or anything like that. Everything that she judges as important is character-based.

Being up yourself is something we all have a right to, Coustas said, and it’s something Effie, with all her childlike optimism, resilience and playfulness, is here to bring out in others.

“We have to put as much enlightenment and joy and fairness out into the world and let people be who they are.”

A former Geelong resident whose acting chops were first birthed at Deakin University, Coustas said her return to the city next year “competes the circle”.

“Please tell Geelong to come and see me because I love them, and I want to see them, and I want to entertain.

“I’d love to come back every single time with the show…I want it to be part of my touring calendar, to keep coming back to Geelong and make it my second home again like it was all those years ago.”

For more information, or to purchase tickets, head to maryandeffie.com/tour