Entertainment

Stephen Fry announces first UK tour in 40 years

The polymath broadcaster will tell the stories of ancient Greece in Mythos: A Trilogy.
The polymath broadcaster will tell the stories of ancient Greece in Mythos: A Trilogy. The polymath broadcaster will tell the stories of ancient Greece in Mythos: A Trilogy.

Stephen Fry will narrate the stories of Greek mythology this summer when he embarks on his first tour in nearly 40 years.

The actor and broadcaster will use audio-visual technology to tell the tales of Olympian gods and ancient Greece’s epic wars.

Mythos: A Trilogy – Gods. Heroes. Men. will open at the Edinburgh International Festival on August 19 and end in Gateshead on September 23.

It will be the 61-year-old’s first time on the road since touring the UK with Hugh Laurie as comedy duo Fry and Laurie during the ’80s.

Fry said: “I am shivering and quivering with excitement at the thought of a UK tour, taking the astounding stories and characters from Greek myth around the UK.

“Three different shows over three different nights: people can come to one, two or three evenings, but whichever they choose I hope will be as exciting for them as I know it will be for me.”

Mythos – Greek for “story” – will see Fry seated on stage in a wingback chair surrounded by a semi-circle of screens designed by Doug Paraschuk.

Princess Eugenie wedding
Princess Eugenie wedding Stephen Fry and his husband Elliott Spencer at Princess Eugenie’s wedding (Gareth Fuller/PA)

The Gods portion of the show will chart the rise of the Olympians – Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Athena and Hermes – as well as the creation of humankind.

Heroes will detail the quests, affairs and wars of Greek mythology’s best-known champions, including Perseus, Theseus and Heracles.

The final segment, Men, will explore the abduction of Helen, the gathering of Agamemnon, Menelaus, Achilles and Odysseus and the eventual Trojan War.

Fry debuted the show, directed by Tim Carroll, at the Shaw Festival in Ontario, Canada, last year.

The show will feature projections by Nick Bottomley, lighting by Kevin Lamotte and original and found music by Paul Sportelli.