At The Apollo’ many years ago. I really liked her self-deprecating style as she relayed stories from
her fairly manic and eventful life.
I am absolutely delighted to say that she has not changed, although the diagnosis of ADHD at age
47 definitely seems to have given her a clearer level of meaning amongst all of the madnesses.
Hence, the title of her tour and book, which, of course, Shappi was signing after the show.
Unsurprisingly, there was quite a queue for people, including yours truly, who were happy to part
with their cash for the chance to meet her.
She received a very warm welcome when she walked onto the iconic thrust stage, based on the
design of the original ‘Cockpit’ theatre. A very simple set consisted of a microphone and a table
with some printed notes, a diary and a copy of her aforementioned book.
The evening was split into two. There was a shorter first half of around 35 minutes or so where
she explained that she was her own ‘warm up’ act. After the interval, there was a much longer
second half as she provided many examples of how ADHD controls her life, affects her emotions
and is dealt with by her teenage children. I did not know beforehand, but she told us that her two
children have different fathers, both of whom she now has amicable understandings with.
Throughout the show, she was a ball of nervous energy, rarely taking a breath or staying still,
except to take a sip of water or to dig out a letter or a page from her book or diary. In fact, the time
flew by very quickly as we were given a whistle stop autobiography, permeated by hilarious and
manic anecdotes. One particularly quirky fact is that she has ‘accidentally’ signed up for a degree
course and is now training to be a psychotherapist. Her actual long-term therapist himself has
ADHD, which has been instrumental in helping her understand the condition which he stated she
is ‘riddled’ with!
Bucking the modern trend somewhat, Shappi rarely descended into the use of coarse language.
However, she was most definitely frank when she recounted stories of lost lovers, disastrous
encounters and drink fuelled evenings. There was an especially memorable tale of the eulogy she
gave at the funeral of one of her former boyfriends.
She was at pains to make sure that she involved all sides of the audience and, at one point,
practically told herself off for not addressing a particular section of the assembled throng. It is safe
to say that she is very adept at working with a live audience – “a gig’s a gig” – and seemed
genuinely thrilled to be performing at this most beautiful of venues. She regularly connected with
individuals and responded quite naturally to comments and the odd question or quip, without ever
losing the general thread of the show.
Thank you very much to the staff and volunteers at the Shakespeare North Playhouse for their
assistance and hospitality.
I can wholeheartedly recommend catching one of the remaining shows on her nationwide tour,
which continues until mid-July.
Tickets can be purchased at:
https://shaparakkhorsandi.seetickets.com/tour/shaparak-khorsandi
Reviewer - David Swift
On - 10/04/2025
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