A journey across the world condensed into 45-minutes of comedy, cabaret and chaos.
Tucked away upstairs in a nondescript pub in Camden, Etcetera Theatre is a hub for independent artists to gather, create and perform. Tonight, the production is a one-woman show by Anastasiya Ador, an accomplished Belarusian-Ukrainian performance artist.
Beginning her life in Belarus, at 16 Ador moved to India before making her way to the UK. Despite her tumultuous life journey, she is *not* having an identity crisis, instead working to embrace all these sides of herself, from dutiful daughter to Bollywood dancer and everything in-between.
The show begins with Ador addressing the audience directly, asking us to act like we’re in a club. That means whooping, hollering, and giving her the most enthusiastic welcome we can muster as she dances onto the stage. This is the beginning of a long line of audience interactions, with most scenes requiring crowd involvement.
Unlike typical stand-up, Ador doesn’t tear into these unsuspecting participants, instead making the interactions fun and unexpected. Part of a generous audience, we are more than happy to comply with her requests, doing anything from learning choreography to shouting out tough English words and providing props from our own bags.
The show has solid bones, with Ador pulling out fascinating stories and sometimes shocking life experiences. However, these are rarely fleshed out and leave the audience wanting more. Ador misses an opportunity to make societal comment or interrogate how her experiences sit within the cultural norms of the country she’s living in.
This ties into a heavily overplayed performance structure that the piece ‘isn’t a real show’, rather a collection of ideas accumulated by Ador for a future dream show at The National. Although this is an intentional bit, the show genuinely lacks cohesion and does come across more as a series of unconnected sketches than a fully polished piece.
However, the show has great potential and with the inclusion of a director would no doubt be boosted to new heights. Ador is a natural performer and handles the complex material about her even more complex life with ease. Her use of props to keep the show engaging and fresh is exceptional and inspired.
Ador frequently mentions her desire to take the show to Edinburgh Fringe next year, and with further honing it undoubtedly has the potential to be a huge success.