February 21, 2013, by Alan Sommerstein

In honour of a spiritual heir of Aristophanes

I don’t know whether the late Jim Henson, creator of the Muppets, ever sought inspiration directly in the comedies of Aristophanes, but there are certainly some ideas of his which might well have made the Greek poet’s ghost exclaim “Now why didn’t I think of that first?”  One of these would certainly be the all-vegetable Singing Food choir; see and hear them perform their own version of Yes, We Have No Bananas (conducted by the Amazing Marvin Suggs):

Aristophanes did something similar in his Wasps, where a dog is put on trial for stealing cheese, and the cheese-grater and other kitchen utensils are called as witnesses for the defence. (And another dramatist, Archippus, created an entirely edible chorus in his Fishes some twenty years later.)

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