Avital Ash’s one-woman show is a darkly comedic exploration of the complex themes of family secrets, suicidal tendencies, growing up a Hasidic Jew, and the ultimate question of whether life is worth living.
The show delves into the theme of family secrets, mostly focused on her secret dead mum, not a secret now obviously, and whether she is on the same path, she jumped off a building, hence the need for a decent suicide note, or a reason to live, whatever comes first.
This adds an extra layer of complexity to the show as not everyone (anyone?) has this experience to draw on but she is able to tackle some very difficult experiences and subject matter with humour and grace.
The show is called Avital Ash Workshops Her Suicide Note because we, the crowd, are here to try and help Ash with her struggle to write the perfect suicide note.
Should it be funny, sad, blame someone, or leave people guessing?
These are the questions that she refers back to throughout the show with the help of input from the audience with one person chosen as scribe taking notes of what is said throughout.
One of the most striking elements of the show is the way that Ash balances humour and emotion.
She uses one-liners to deflect from the weighty subject matter but you don’t mind one bit as she is so good at building up the emotional intensity before releasing the pressure in the room with a clever quip.
The result is a rollercoaster of emotions that has the audience laughing one moment and then feeling deeply shocked the next, but still laughing.
At times I found myself laughing at things that maybe I shouldn’t be in day-to-day life, I laughed especially hard at the ‘bad baby’ joke, but the way that Ash tells these stories with her dark comedic twist makes it almost impossible not to.
Near the beginning of the show and as part of this process, Ash makes a note of some things that may be worth living for, and now she can add this show to that list.
Avital Ash Workshops Her Suicide Note
22:05
Monkey Barrel Comedy (The Tron)
Aug 12-13, 15-27
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/avital-ash-workshops-her-suicide-note
