Travels From New South Wales
Mary Coustas
The Australian comedy legend behind ‘Effie the Greek Hair-Gel Goddess’
An icon of Australian comedy, Mary Coustas has won two awards for Best Comedy Performer, a Logie Award as voted by the Australian public and a Variety Heart Award from her industry peers. With her prolific work on beloved projects like Out of Work, Acropolis Now, Wog-A-Rama and Greeks on the Roof, Mary is one of Australia's best-loved character actors.
Now performing her new show ‘A Corporate Date with Effie’, Mary hopes to entertain any corporate event by bringing Effie the Greek Hair-Gel Goddess to life and sharing her views in a dog-eat-dog world. An extraordinarily talented host, Effie will have your audience falling off their chairs with laughter, whether it’s at corporate functions, awards nights, hypotheticals, or debates.
Mary began her career in Melbourne on an invitation to join the cast of Wogs Out of Work. Confronting Anglo Saxons (Skips) with their own prejudices, Wogs Out of Work became the most successful original Australian theatre show ever produced, breaking box office records and touring nationally for over two years.
The show's phenomenal success led to five seasons of the hit TV sitcom series Acropolis Now in which Mary played Effie Stephanides, the Greek hairdresser who stole the show with her big mouth and refusal to take lip from anyone. Mary would continue Effie’s legacy through her one-woman show Waiting for Effie, as well as in Wog-A-Rama and the critically acclaimed Effie X-Posed.
Mary and Effie have become a staple of Australian entertainment, with a number of television appearances include Effie Just Quietly (SBS), Good Guys Bad Guys, Water Rats, and regular roles on Grass Roots and The Secret Life of Us. She was the Australian host for Eurovision, and has even made a guest appearance on Who Wants to be a Millionaire.
Mary has gone onto write and perform her own TV show Greeks on The Roof, as well as a book, titled Effie's Guide To Being Up Yourself. Effie also worked on Melbourne's FOX FM breakfast team and has a hit single with Norman Gunston. Mary also has several film credits, one of which resulted in an AFI nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
With an extensive career in comedy and performing arts, Mary is the perfect host for your next corporate event.