Review by Carly Fisher
When Anna Akana jokes that her superpower in life is to ‘monetise’ the tragic things that happen to her, an otherwise potentially awkward line receives a rowdy audience applause. Why? Because by that point I think we are all just happy to know that there is something good that comes out of all this sorrow for this extremely likeable young woman. Certainly, thanks to her comedy, her super power has been to learn to cope with it all and whilst she navigates what she calls the ‘darker’ content of her show with good humour, this is definitely a show that comes with trigger warnings.
Akana’s debut fringe show ‘It gets darker,’ certainly sees the comedian holding no stops. Promptly revealing that seeing a comedian a few months after her younger sister took her life was the reason that she got into comedy, you can sense early that she holds this job in high regard. Garnering a significant social media following for her videos on mental health, and specifically on suicide prevention, the opportunity of her platform is not lost on her.
The more you get to know her story, as the show progresses, the more you are left questioning whether you’re feeling dreadfully sorry for all that she has been through or extremely proud of her for getting through it all. And whilst the show was not my cup of tea at all times, I certainly left a fan in that I can see the real craft of this performer. She does not allow you to disengage even for a minute. Her stories are well timed with good punch lines and generally speaking, the humour is clever. There are jokes here and there that cheapen the quality slightly but every comedian does it and so it is easy to quickly brush off and await the next joke/story - all of which are delivered with expertise.
Akana makes no secret about the fact that she is doing this show because she wants this show turned into a TV special. Unfortunately, it seems to be that many comedians are coming to the festival anticipating that same fate. I can see this show getting picked up for a special - it has strong messages and a lot of heart. With that, Akana has chosen to keep a lot of the jokes that will land clearer for an American audience and in those moments, I find it is just a handful of us (the Americans and me, the token Aussie) really laughing. It is a tough thing to try content that is so specific to one demographic on another (eg. US on a UK audience) and it’s in these moments that we definitely see the audience divide as to whether or not the joke was successful. Akana is very self aware though and makes note of these moments, telling us she is choosing to keep the joke anyway because of the US networks coming. Whilst I totally understand this decision, I hope that future shows after the special see the comedian adapting a bit more to the surroundings, rather than the pre-written jokes made for a different audience.
Perhaps Akana’s true superpower is her relatability in delivery, even when the circumstances are not necessarily ‘relatable’ at all. For example, I doubt many of her audience has experienced the terrifying affection of a stalker - one whom, as she tells us, not only threatened to kill her but also emailed her over 600 times in a week and turned up to her house on multiple occasions (and with multiple hats). These experiences would be bizarre - written for a movie surely - if they were not her own true experiences! Another example would be that of the ponytail but I’m not going to tell you any more about that - you need to see the show.
I’m not sure that if I’d read up more on this show I would have chosen to go. So I am very happy that I didn’t read up and instead just turned up. I think that my concerns about the tastefulness of discussions of suicide and mental health in a comedy show would have distracted me from attending but if that is a concern that you have, let me assure you that Akana does not fall trap in any way. Instead, personal experiences are shared and stories are delivered with sincerity and humour to make what could be a heavy or dark conversation, accessible to the masses. And that is an impressive feat.
After a 6 year break from the industry because of her stalker, it is a great thing to see Akana back on stage and doing what she loves. She is an engaging performer with a powerful message to share and her purpose for being on that stage is very clear, and for that I commend her and certainly hope for her that she gets the TV special she is seeking because it is deserved.
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