ANY fans of Natalie Haynes will have a clear comedic knowledge of those old Greek Gods sitting on Mount Olympus and changing themselves into various more or less attractive birds and insects in order to seduce unsuspecting human women.

Their antics come to hilarious life by courtesy of Jacques Offenbach in his operetta Orpheus in the Underworld. And this year, Celebrate Voice in Salisbury has taken the opportunity to set the story in the world of 70s sitcoms, so that each god has the very recognisable persona of a favourite character from the TV, all packed into the Medieval Hall in the Cathedral Close.

So, with Austen Powers playing Jupiter, the 118 118 guy as winged Mercury, Del Boy as Pluto, Mrs Slocombe as Public Opinion, Dennis the Menace as Cupid and Cpl. Jack Jones/Basil Fawlty as Mars and John Styxx, the tale of Euridice and Orpheus and the violin and the shepherd boy unfolds at the Medieval Hall.

Music director Michael Waldron is at the piano, oh-so-ripped in his tight white suit, making the most of every musical reference that rings a bell, Offenbachian or otherwise.

If your association with the legend is rooted in Gluck’s plangent Che Faro, you are in for a surprise. The faithful Orpheus (Xavier Hetherington) has been uprooted by a vain, controlling and deeply boring prat whose violin playing makes the hyenas cry. Euridice (Ellie Laugharne with laryngytis miming/Madeline Robertson singing) is a bit of a goer, and her latest inamorata is a shepherd up from Zummerzet … but actually Pluto in disguise (Robert Burt). When it seems the game’s up, our God of Hades takes Euridice down to hell to get away from her jealous husband, but when Jupiter (Tim Alexander) hears of brother Pluto’s success, he wants to get in on the action, and takes his whole family of godlets off to the nether regions to cover his own seduction of the naughty nymph.

And don’t forget, this is the show that brought us the Can Can, brilliantly interwoven into this complicated comedy.

Celebrate Voice festival founder Lynsey Docherty provides the highpoint of hilarity in her double act as Diana with her (lamentably uncredited) dog.

This Orpheus didn’t need to go to hell to warm the cockles of the audience hearts in this joyful, energetic and inspired version of a traditionally very sad myth.

GP-W