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A scattered, under-polished cabaret, yet with great potential. Summary
Rating
Ok
Fumbling in late to her own show, we meet Rachael Bellis, the protagonist of CabarADHD. She apologises and frantically starts to prepare herself on a disordered stage, one that perfectly represents what the chaotic ADHD mind can look like. There’s mess everywhere, remnants of abandoned hobbies that were once hyperfixations, and a dreaded wall full of reminders, post-it notes, and to-do lists. And first on the agenda: use to-do list.
Bellis introduces herself and her mind at the beginning of this ADHD-themed cabaret. She’s rudely interrupted by her scattered mind (a projection of herself above), who blurts random songs and jingles of adverts no non-American would even understand. She’s totally in her own world, disrupting the show and running solely on impulse.
The on-stage version of Bellis begins with her cabaret, singing many songs from musicals with the lyrics slightly changed to be relevant to ADHD. Whilst she is an incredibly talented singer, some of the pieces feel a little too long, causing the energy to drop throughout. Additionally, only minimal lyrics are changed and arguably more niche musical songs chosen, so the alterations might be lost on audience members who don’t know the original versions anyway.
The show proceeds as such; a song, an interruption, a little back and forth between herself and her ‘mind’, a little introduction on a symptom of ADHD, and so on. It is an interesting concept to merge the ideas of a cabaret performance along with sharing the inner workings of your mind creating a chaotic show, however, the execution is not quite there.
Despite a brief introduction to a characteristic such as executive dysfunction or rejection sensitive dysphoria, the songs that follow feel too standalone, almost like she wants an excuse to belt out musicals (and beautifully), but they do not quite have a point.
Arguably, though, if the songs and their links make sense to her, that could be enough. Part of the ADHD mind does find it hard to relate to others, so what might seem like common sense to her might not translate. In this aspect, the slightly random choice of song may actually work. With more cleverly crafted and meaningful transitions into songs this concept could be better polished. Although this is a cabaret, a clearer structure or sense of purpose in the show might help guide things in the right direction. The mumblings between each song feel overly awkward and unpractised, with the video low quality and lagging slightly, creating a few too many silences. Despite the audience being small, even having a bigger one wouldn’t have reduced this awkward atmosphere.
Bellis clearly has a talent for singing, and a willingness to share her inner psyche, and as much as I don’t want to discourage theatre, this might be the wrong medium for her to express what she’s trying to. The dialogue between her and her own mind, along with song parodies, and emotional stories of misdiagnoses and isolation as a teenager might work better on screen rather than as a live performance. Indeed, the themes and ideas were reminiscent of Bo Burnham’s Inside, a homemade film exploring his depression during lockdown.
Regardless, creating such an intimate show where your own mind is the main character, and your past experiences are discussed is a brave and vulnerable act that should not be minimised. This show has an intriguing premise and great potential for development.
Written by: Rachael Bellis
CabarADHD has completed its current run.
