Anya Anastasia addresses the futility of our actions and the dangers of our social media obsession through music, spoken word and a bizarre attempt at martial arts. With the help of the talented Gareth Chin, she sings original songs about everything from the hypocritical nature of the self-righteous to the future ditty of the tropical land of Russia once global warming has destroyed most of the planet.
The songs are all very well-written, and performed excellently by Anastasia, who has a great voice. She shows off a number of different styles, all of which she executes commendably, although my favourite is definitely her softer, slower songs, which come right towards the end of the show. The first of these is haunting and beautiful, and gave me goosebumps.
I also love the elements of spoken word, which were cleverly constructed and delivered almost flawlessly. The audience wasn’t the most enthusiastic or cooperative the night I was there, but Anastasia dealt with it impressively well and continued with her witty commentary and amusing audience interactions.
The video montages of the scary reality of Twitter and Facebook are brilliantly put together and accompanied by excellent sound, and I found the quiet query of ‘Does anything I do make a difference?’ at the end of the show particularly poignant.
The one thing that disrupted the show, for me, was the incomprehensible fight scene that came at the end. It’s slightly crazy and strange and that’s fine, but it’s not nearly as polished as the rest of the show and goes on at least three times longer than it should. Apart from that, however, it is an excellent show and one that will definitely make you re-examine your daily decisions.
Anya Anastasia: The Executioners is on at 20:00 at Gilded Balloon Teviot until August 26th, excluding the 13th. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit the EdFringe website.
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