ALOK: Eat, Pray, Leave – Pleasance One
If I had to choose one word for Eat Pray Leave, it would be confusing. ALOK is difficult to quantify and, for me, frequently difficult to understand. Having reviewed more than 30 shows at this year’s Fringe, this was comfortably the most densely challenging in terms of language.
ALOK Vaid-Menon is an international star, writer, comedian, poet and leading non-binary voice, and there is no doubting the intelligence or purpose behind this hour. ALOK is not here to make trite jokes. They are here to provoke, challenge and demand recognition.
I came with an open mind, ready to listen and understand. But I also needed to be let into the conversation. Too often, the language felt constructed for an audience already familiar with its vocabulary and cultural references. I could sense...