Mary Coustas

It takes many muses to create a character that has the intergenerational following of Effie – now meet the puppeteer behind the puppet.

Straight from sell out shows at Sydney Opera House, This Is Personal is a candid and intimate one-woman show, that combines the coarse tapestry of Coustas’ migrant upbringing in Melbourne’s suburbs, and her recent experience of motherhood.

Brilliantly directed by Blazey Best (Well Behaved Women, Sensitive Guys, Kings for Pigs), Mary addresses questions from her inquisitive daughter, her answers forcing her to reflect on what she can offer from her own life experience… and more importantly what she can’t. The audience meets the hilarious characters from Mary’s family who have shaped her life – including Mary’s younger self who created the suit of armour we’ve come to know as “Effie”.

Mary Coustas has starred in multiple national tours (Wogs Out of Work, Effie the Virgin Bride) and brought powerhouse persona Effie into living rooms around Australia in the iconic sitcom Acropolis Now (for which she was awarded a Logie for Most Popular Comedy Personality in 1993) and Greeks on The Roof (Seven Network). Coustas is the author of Effie’s Guide to Being Up Yourself and critically acclaimed memoir All I Know.

This Is Personal is an unforgettable, powerful and kaleidoscopic exploration of love, loss, laughter and fear, and how all four come to define us.

“But it’s her signature comedic flair that shines throughout, ensuring the performance is as hilarious as it is (sometimes) heartbreaking.” Time Out

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