★★★
‘That’s the ADHD’, Moni intones as she trips over her tripod with camera-phone in the first seconds of this show. I immediately relax, as I’m a huge advocate for normalising the extra obstacles that occur when performing whilst neurospicy.
Moni Zhang begins her hour with multiple warnings, she can’t stress enough that what she’s going to say will be offensive, and to get out if it offends you. I don’t think the audience believed her, and isn’t offence subjective anyway?
Zhang’s energy is awesome, she vibrates with emotion, giving everything she says this authentic immediacy that can feel a little too intimate. Of course, we are treated to the usual one-liners and asides that have become cliché in stand-up, especially of the shock personal confession. Where Moni swerves off into uncharted territory, is the intersection of trauma and race. She tackles the predominately white audience with a slew of observations about our privilege. There isn’t a moment’s hesitation or sense of worry in her delivery. By the end of the show Moni has tears streaming down her face as the story of her absent now deceased father hits home. It’s a bruising hour, but certainly an experience.
