Anya Anastasia explodes into the theatre to the ominous sounds of thunderstorms, as she live streams her ascension to the stage. Adorned in a post apocalyptic silver headpiece featuring several iPhones, she serenades us with a scintillating soliloquy, a rhetoric on how we are feeling and our ability to react via the medium of social media. As Anya transforms into a series of mechanical movements, the screen behind her reels off news articles and tweets about world atrocities – Syria, Trump, ISIS, Fake News and Brexit. This interlude into the atrocious sets our scene for the hour ahead.
An hour of punchy politics, hearty humour and aural greatness
Though notably different from last year's show, The Executioners does not disappoint. It retains that air of an intelligent and unorthodox performer with a lot to say about the world. And, if possible, her voice is even more powerful as she plunges into an emphatically resounding protest on a disposable economy; a throw-away culture in which people are too busy to do what they need to do.
Anya is here and has something to say, and the audience are enthused to listen to her perform self-written song after song, delivered with passion, pathos and panache. ‘There’s a lot of shit going down and people need a hero!’ and the aim of The Executioners is to show us how we can all be that hero. Through the medium of dance, accordion, ukulele, piano and a kick-ass fight scene, Anya and her long suffering counterpart, Gareth Chin, leave no place to hide for the burning issues of the day. Climate change, affordable housing, the benefits system and self medicating to cope are all issues teased out by this valiant warrior of cabaret as she sprinkles her magic over the top and makes us truly believe that we can find a way through all of this. And despite the seriousness of the issues, she utilises her very own brand of unconventional to keep things light and fun, including some fantastic lighting effects and well produced props and back screens.
This is an hour of punchy politics, hearty humour and aural greatness which will give you all the motivation you need to join The Executioners and save the world. A wonderful show that absorbs us into the inner workings of a politically aware, passionate bastion of progress - at the end of this hour, you too will feel #blessed.
