04/08/23

Gilded Balloon Teviot – Sportsmans, Edinburgh

Chelsea Hart makes TikTok videos. It’s what they do. So they were taken by surprise when one of their posts went viral in Iran, sparking the kind of fame they never expected to have. After all, it’s not every day you accidentally join a revolution.

Hart is undoubtedly a born performer. Despite their slender frame, they have a huge presence, prowling the small stage. They’re compelling – I can’t look away, and it feels as if they are making eye contact with me almost the whole time. (I wonder if the rest of the audience experiences a similar sensation; is it the same trick as a portrait whose eyes follow you around a room?)

The material is wide-ranging, incorporating – among other things – tales of life in a small Alaskan town, revelations about Iranian culture, trans rights, opera, suicide, dick jokes, abortion and British sarcasm. There is a lot to unpack. In fact, there’s so much here that it’s almost to the show’s detriment: the whole thing feels scattershot and it’s hard to find the through-line that links it all together. There are analogies to be drawn, but they’re lost in the flurry. I think the structure could do with a little work: a stronger arc would lend the shocking ending more impact. I’d also like them to have shown us the original TikTok videos that brought them to the attention of the Iranians, to provide us with something concrete to establish the premise.

That’s not to say this doesn’t work. It does. It’s original and provocative: Hart has great energy and real, well, heart. They are expressive and engaging, exuding both confidence and vulnerability, and their outlook on life is genuinely inspiring. The show’s message is a fine one too: let’s learn from the united liberation movement the Iranian women are leading, and stop being so individualistic. Imagine what we could achieve if we all actually worked together, striving for something good.

3.3 stars

Susan Singfield