Edinburgh Fringe 2025
23 and Me and Somebody Else
Malia Moss
Genre: Autobiography, Solo Show
Venue: Paradise in the Vault
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
23 and me and somebody else begins as a scientific pitch for funding that slowly becomes and evolves into an expose on the life of our performer. A theatrical exploration and explanation of how a family that you thought was yours turns out not to be quite that.
Review
Malia Moss began with what was a conceit of a pitch for funding for a scientific study. It was clear. from the very beginning that the subject was herself. That conceit slowly drifted away, and it was interesting to hear and listen to how she had got herself along to therapy having always believed that somehow, she was not part of this family unit. Little by little, layer by layer, we slowly understand what emerges. 23andMe is a DNA testing programme you can apply to and have returned, your profile by nationality which has become so popular in the States. It returned a strange result for Moss, and she discovered her truth: she was part Jewish and part Colombian. Posting this result in Facebook, it led to her mother having a difficult conversation in an eating place, which is the family venue for handling difficult conversations. During the course of this conversation, Moss discovered the fling and therapy ensued.
This is an interesting take on talking about your family and getting therapy in a theatrical performance which grows from a look from the outside to a sense of feelings on the inside of the tale. Growing up, Moss believed that she was not part of this blonde-haired family, given that she always had thick, dark hair, apart from when she was born. Discovering in later life that she was not the daughter of the father that she thought she was, but of a wild fling that her mother had at one point, this is craftily evolved over time.
It is admirable that Moss is able to keep on topic, given that it felt like the WWE had moved in upstairs with Wizard of Oz Jr. and is attempting to drown out any form of performance below. Having warned us that we might suffer from audio bleed, it didn’t take too long before the thunder up the stairs, not applause, began to infect what we were listening to downstairs.
Moss does manage to hold onto us and this was well imagined. There is plenty of humour in amongst some dark times, however, it did belie the angst clearly felt. Once we got into the story of who her father was, it began to take off. The conceit was abandoned and now we were onboard with Moss and her angst. Here it hinted at a back story for ad that was abandoned – may be next year’s show – as issues with her therapist and connections being partly broken with her entire family are exposed. This was less successful and descended into too focussed on a point of view than the theatricality of the storyline. It felt we were part of the therapy group and not an audience. Using stages to exorcise emotions is a well-trodden path: success tends to come when the trauma has been dealt with, and here it feels there is a long way to go. Therapy after all should be of a style that meets your needs rather than a style which suits.
It leads to an unsuccessful conclusion into which we meander. There is better ways of bringing to a conclusion theatrically the story, which would take in views and opinions which may not be comfortable but add to understanding rather than peddle a point of view. Given he beginning and the interaction with the presentation Moss is a very skilled practitioner: ironically better material or fuller material might give her that chance to shine.
