The actresses appearing in the next production at the Mercury Theatre in Colchester have a new-found respect for groups like Girls Aloud.

In fact, they go one better - as their Greek chorus girl band have to sing, dance and tell a story as part of their roles in the new Mercury company production, Iph.

Iph, by Colin Teevan, is based on Iphigeneia at Aulis by Greek playwright Euripides and tells the story of Iphigeneia, daughter of King Agamemnon, who is taken to her father's fleet at Aulis under the pretext of marriage.

Her father has a more sinister fate in store for her as he needs her as a human sacrifice to appease the Gods and allow the massed army he commands to sail for Troy to bring back the infamous beauty, Helen of Troy.

The Greek chorus features in many classic Greek plays and traditionally helps the audience to follow the story, commenting on themes and expressing what the main characters cannot express, such as their fears or secrets.

Today, this takes the form of spoken lines, often said in unison, but playwright Colin Teevan explained that back in classical times it would have been more like a musical production with song and dance.

And that's how the Mercury is doing it - except with a street flair.

The Mercury Greek chorus is made-up of Ella Vale, Clare Humphrey, Charlie Morgan, Natasha Rickman and Emily Woodward, daughter of Edward, and as part of the rehearsals they have been dancing their way through a variety of musical genres.

Charlie Morgan said: "We go from hip hop street dance to punk and drum and bass, so it's pretty varied.

"It's hard work, but fun. We've given ourselves special names. I'm Queenie, and then we have Toosie, Mash, Corona and Chardonnay."

Iph is the second Euripides adaptation to be staged at the Mercury Theatre, following the success of the Mercury Theatre Company production of Ion in 2004. What both shows have in common is composer Ansuman Biswas, who has worked with Courtney Pine, Talvin Singh and Björk.

His original compositions were one of the highlights of Ion, and for Iph it looks like he has delivered another unique selection of music.

Not that the girls have much time to sit down and enjoy it.

Clare said: "The tough bit is doing the dance moves and remembering that you are there telling a story, so when we sing it has to be clear and precise.

"Some may see it as a Greek chorus with a nice twist, but as the playwright told us it is probably a lot closer to the original than we first thought it would be."

l Iph runs at the Mercury Theatre, Colchester, from May 30 to June 14.

Tickets are available from the Mercury Theatre Box Office on 01206 573948 or online at mercurytheatre. co.uk