Brandi Alexander has reinvented herself; a self confessed D-list night-time personality back in the saddle after a five year hiatus. Tatiana Pavela introduces us to this tornado of tenacity who unapologetically tears into stereotypes like a cat ripping apart a ball of wool.
Great humour, acerbic wit and a show quality which will make you lap up all that rage, ugliness and pathos
I was initially unsure what to think of this sequin-clad, self-loathing powerhouse as she begins her routine with a quickfire condemnation on obesity - "if you're fat, either be funny or go kill yourself, you worthless ugly bitch". Pavela is loud, angry and has a message to impart, but amidst its transmission, she descends into a revenge-fuelled depressive episode which sees her laid out on stage paralysed with self-doubt, indignation and a need for revenge. In the wake of the #metoo movement, Brandi Alexander is enraged that the perpetrator of her brutal rape is completely unaffected whilst she, conversely, can barely remember who she was before the attack. Pavela expertly weaves changes of tempo to portray the process of healing, within which Brandi is very much mid-process. She de-normalises the concept of rape, in particular through the medium of song, where she elongatedly echoes the word until it no longer has any power in the room. And she dissects the intergenerational acceptance of trauma as a key barrier in moving forward.
Pavela is most passionate and convincing when articulating the politics of patriarchy, privilege and exploring the risky space women inhabit in the world just by existing. I’m unsure that this requires the persona of Brandi Alexander to achieve it. The show is supposed to be ugly, erratic and out of control, mirroring the experience of the eponymous character. However, there’s an unrelatable quality to Brandi Alexander which means that it slightly misses the mark in places. Highlights of the performance are the ‘Why did the chicken cross the road?’ skit, and Brandi’s attempts to reframe the narrative of her misplaced guilt and sense of responsibility.
Brandi Alexander is a show as uncomfortably stifling and suffocating as the tiny room it inhabits - which one would expect of such subject matter. However, within that discomfort exists great humour, acerbic wit and a show quality which will make you lap up all that rage, all that ugliness and all that pathos and use it to make the world a better place. This show will challenge you, make you laugh and entertain you in equal measure.
