★★★★
Time is a funny thing, but it’s never been funnier than when Anjali Singh discusses it. A wonderful one-person show, spanning centuries of history, from Hamilton parodies to yoga, Singh presents a well crafted show that explores, you guessed it, time.
Singh weaves a personal story about her life, the end of a relationship with an expiry date she set, with informative, insightful and funny explorations on the very nature of time. Dealing with mediaeval concepts, a day split into twelve uneven hours, tracking how industrialisation led to times standardisation, how time became money, how the British Empire forcefully imposed this standard on Australia. Despite dealing with what could be dry and abstract topics, the show remains engaging and joyous throughout.
Singh has a strong singing voice, and her parody lyrics really cracked me up. Her speedy quick-change impressions were inspired, bringing to life French revolutionaries and founding fathers. Singh is incredibly witty and guides us through the subject matter with an intellectual panache that I felt like I was down my own Wikipedia rabbit hole.
Her strongest moments came with her personal anecdotes – deadlines feeling like brick walls you’re being fired towards against your will, the agonising paralysis that comes with the ticking of the clock and the heartbreaking decision to break up with a partner.
An accomplished show, lacking only polish which would truly fire it into the atmosphere, A Matter of Time is a deeply moving and overall great show, a pleasure to watch, and, no pun intended, absolutely deserving of your time.
Review by Tom Chandler
A Matter of Time C Venues, C Cubed – Main Space 17:50 (1hr) Aug 8-15, 17-28 £9-5 12+
