Brighton Fringe 2026
Her Raving Mind
Fenia Gianni & JD Henshaw, triada theatre company
Genre: One Person Show, Surrealism, Tragedy, True-life
Venue: Sweet Venues, Yellow Book Theatre
Festival: Brighton Fringe
Low Down
A performance shaped through rave music as escapism, and acting parallels between reality and mania.
Review
What started as an eye into the youth of a middle-aged Grecian woman with wild red hair, evolved into a contemporary exploration of narcissism within a mother-daughter dynamic.
Her Raving Mind was a performance shaped through rave music as escapism, and acting parallels between reality and mania.
The fast-paced dialogue in this one-woman show reflected the pressure felt inside of EL’s inner child, accompanied by bright backlighting that encompassed the exposure and vulnerability of an abuse survivor. The performer’s acting was very good, with a natural ability to both draw in and push away audiences as she navigated her trauma, and we were taken on a journey of her troubles collectively.
I found the conversations of abuse from EL as a child very disturbing, with binge-eating as a disorder explored as the crux to survive the household. By having a binge-and-release dynamic with her teenage self, EL shows audiences how her mother, who was inherently jealous of her daughter, reflected her own insecurities about her aging body and skewed EL’s understanding of her younger body, mind and personality. The damage is incredibly sad.
Using audio clippings from EL’s narcissistic mother throughout the play, with common manipulation phrases interfering the performance like, “that never happened,” we can see that this character has never really healed from the harm of her childhood. Similarly, the ‘relatable Mediterranean routine’ of an absent father and domineering mother is explored through EL’s memories, and the harm of this is obvious through her later toxic romantic relationships with men as an adult.
Uncomfortable conversations in theatre undeniably spark strong emotions in audiences, and this can either be taken as an important conversation explored through arts, or it can sometimes miss the mark as a monologue of despair with no clear message. Her Raving Mind walked the line of the two as confessional theatre and immersive thriller, but throughout the noise, Fenia Gianni has an uncanny ability to act to an audience, not for an audience.
This piece of theatre is no easy watch, but an important lesson on the impact parents have on their children. Culture and nurture influence upbringing and understanding of oneself, and with some further reflection on the message behind the piece, it is a good social commentary that needs a place for conversation.
