Iconic Australian comedy performer and author — on grief, resilience and the long quiet work of recovery.
Mary Coustas is one of Australia's most recognised comedy performers — best known for the character of Effie, who emerged from Acropolis Now and has remained part of the cultural landscape for more than three decades. The arc of her work, both on and off stage, has steadily widened beyond comedy into writing, advocacy and frank conversations about grief.
Her memoir — written after the loss of her daughter — is the work that now defines a substantial part of her speaking. She writes and talks with rare honesty about loss, identity, the migrant experience, and the long quiet work of recovery from the chapters of life that can't be reasoned with.
For corporate audiences, Mary is a powerful keynote choice for women's events, leadership programs, wellbeing days and major in-house conferences where the brief is to combine humour with substance. She's an experienced live performer who tailors carefully to brief and rates strongly across formats from keynote to fireside.
Mary Coustas is a keynote speaker and entertainer based in Victoria who speaks on inspiration and women in business. Book through Executive Speakers Australia.
Lighten up any corporate event with Australia's iconic, hilarious & up-herself high flyer. This Logie award winning legend will make your corporate occasion unforgettable with her new comedy routine, 'A Corporate Date with Effie'. Be entertained, informed and uplifted about the things that drive us all to succeed: selling yourself in a dog eat dog world, pursuing what you desire, and closing the deal, in a way that only Effie's humour and honesty can deliver.
Effie is the Logie award winning creation of Mary Coustas, an actress and writer. Her beloved character of Effie became a cultural phenomenon after the success of Wogs Out of Work. The social significance of that theatre show gave birth to a many more: Acropolis Now, Wogarama, Waiting for Effie, Effie Just Quietly, Greeks on the Roof.
Whether it’s staff self-esteem building, corporate dinners, awards nights, community uplifting, boardroom bonding, hypotheticals, debates or government bureaucratic finessing — whatever. Effie can be a mouthpiece, your soldier, a corporate and social carbonator extraordinaire. The long-term benefits are there for you to gain from. She can be yours for a price.
Great session. Terrific to work with in preparation and on the night.Capstone Financial Planning
Mary Coustas provided a warm and genuine insight into her life and was a pleasure to work with. We were so very lucky to engage her to be our guest speaker at our annual luncheon where she wowed the crowd with her personal words and openness.Worklink
We should pay Effie double – she was quite simply FANTASTIC – particularly Effie’s line – “It’s not DOG eat DOG – it’s WOG eat WOG”! Everyone I’ve spoken to also thinks it was the best ever! It was a great night.SBS Television
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