Ania Magliano: I Can’t Believe You’ve Done This takes stand-up comedy to a new level, transforming it into a narrative of survival that is as touching as it is entertaining.
Ania Magliano: I Can’t Believe You’ve Done This begins with a lightness, an almost frivolous approach focusing on gossip, relationships, and the classic foibles of human nature. Everything revolves around a tragically botched haircut and how this seemingly trivial event has inevitably turned the performer’s life upside down. Her therapist’s advice to overcome the trauma leads her into a spiral of potentially destructive decisions but also sets her on a path of self-discovery and reconnection with her own body. To find a solution to her existential loneliness, the artist turns to volunteering and the experience of a threesome, striving to reclaim her body, which she no longer recognizes. Yet, there’s much more to it…
The performance skilfully plays with symbolism and metaphors, weaving a narrative far beyond the comedic tale of failed threesomes, excess eggs, and breast reductions. It emerges as a form of working through trauma, utilising the power of storytelling to gain control and agency over the narrative material—over the trauma itself. This deep-seated trauma reshapes the artist’s perception of herself and her body. The perfectly stitched narrative addresses all aspects of trauma and PTSD, culminating in a profoundly moving climax that circles back to the beginning when the artist openly talks about sexual violence, a revelation that we somehow forgot in the laughter that has filled the room for the past hour. It’s a rare example of self-irony, bitterness, and vulnerability presented through near-flawless storytelling.
Ania Magliano reveals herself to be profound, modern, incisive, and a master in her art. She elevates her performance, Ania Magliano: I Can’t Believe You’ve Done This, beyond mere entertainment, turning it into a platform for catharsis and individual reassertion on stage.
