New releases from Ibex Band, Lucy Dacus, and Various Artists
Latest editorial
The best medicine
JAMES WALSH is therapeutically disrobed by a disarmingly attentive exploration of harsh truths and nonsense
hahaha
Julia Masli: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha
Soho Theatre
Can a clown save the world?
This probably wasn’t what Julia Masli, an Estonian performer trained by the notorious Parisian pedagogue Philippe Gaulier, had set out to achieve with her latest. Still, you never know. Masli always aims high, with seemingly limitless reserves of care, poise, and life-affirming naivete.
And after an hour of this staggering, beautiful, and heartfelt show, your correspondent is a convert to the idea of free Masli on the NHS. It’s called ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, but it was never supposed to be funny — or so its author claims. Instead, a Bjork-esque elfin alien, Masli in a typically ludicrous outfit, attempts to solve the audience’s problems, whether big or small, serious or inconsequential.
More from this author
JAMES WALSH applauds the observations of a new Chinese master of stand-up
JAMES WALSH is appalled by the implications of introducing AI to the workplace
JAMES WALSH enthuses over the evidence that the tunes are even better after the unstoppable sex machine
JAMES WALSH happily maroons himself at possibly the most-difficult-to-get-to festival in Britain