Review: ADvsHD, Rosemary Branch Theatre

It will be of little surprise that ADvsHD is very much about ADHD. It’s a hot topic right now, so where better a location to hold conversations about how it can affect people’s lives than in fringe theatre, a safe place to start important conversations. 

Bea (writer Sara Bei) has returned home to stay with sister Alice (Ella Brock). She’s been absent for two years, something Alice struggles to understand. Trying to reintegrate into each other’s lives is an effort, both having to readjust to the upheaval it brings to their usual routines, but slowly the pair return to the sisterly bond of their younger years. 

At its simplest, ADvsHD is a charming story of how family can both grow apart and also back together. But that is only half the story, as beneath the surface it explores the added complexity of ADHD on any relationship. It’s this element that makes the play much more interesting and suggests that there is room for further development.

Of course, one of the big issues with ADHD is that it can lead to a scattered mind; hundreds of competing ideas and thoughts all screaming for attention all at the same time. Right now, the show feels exactly like that: too many ideas competing for stage time, without enough focus to bring them all together. It is both fitting of its subject matter but also frustrating that strong ideas get lost under this avalanche of opposing concepts. The production needs stripping back to reconsider which elements should remain, and which are surplus to requirements.  

So where should focus land? The play is at its best when portraying ADHD in all its messiness. Each sister portrays many varied traits of the condition, and it’s these small details that provide a glimpse of what it is like to live with it. There’s Bea’s inability to stay quiet for more than five seconds, her fidgeting, her need to jump from one thought to the next without pause, while for Alice it is half-finished projects, bailing out when things might not go quite to plan. The list goes on and every aspect gets its moment. It’s here the play excels in demonstrating just what goes through the mind when you have ADHD. 

But this at times can also be its downfall, countless ideas flowing without any filter. And by filter, it means an editor to cut out the surplus from the script. It’s tough for any writer to omit scenes they have spent precious time creating, but Bei needs to be brave and take a knife to her writing. This will free space, enabling what is left to breathe and develop. 

Equally as interesting, but again in need of refinement, are the impressive gymnastics – and yes, that does mean actual gymnastics. Bei cartwheels, backflips and handstands on the mat that is noisily inflated early on. These moments again demonstrate how ADHD can work, by allowing a focus on an activity just to briefly stop the inner monologue. They just need to be balanced out so as not to seem excessive or self-indulgent. Perhaps using them as pauses between scenes could work wonders. 

As could probably be said for a fair number of Camden Fringe shows, ADvsHD feels a work-in-progress, a production only just starting its journey to adulthood. It’s currently a collection of good ideas that still need to find a way to blend together. Nonetheless it is great to see someone with ADHD bringing that experience to the stage – perhaps another small step towards showing that it’s not a made-up condition but one that causes us to do some very odd things at times!

Written by Sara Bei
Directed by Ilker Oztur
Produced by Bruniswann Theatre Company

ADvsHD has completed its run at this year’s Camden Fringe.