Writer: Kathryn Haywood
Director: Dan Mersh
Reviewer: Christine Stanton
“Yoga’nna Enjoy It!”
3.5 / 5
Yoga teacher Kath is a big believer in the benefits of yoga – using a few Australian self-help guides from the 60s to keep her body, mind and soul on the path to staying young, desirable and flatulence free.
The audience are (mostly non-active!) participants of Kath’s sex themed yoga class – as she impressively introduces herself to the room mid headstand, welcoming everyone into the safe space she has created. She eagerly gushes about the ridiculously absurd excerpts from (real!) books from Phelan and Volin that outline some secrets to life – drink a lot of juice, don’t let yourself go and if you’re single, find yourself a horseman. Amidst these life lessons, Kath is inundated with texts from her latest date, who doesn’t seem like much of a catch based on the interactions, but Kath’s happy she’s finally found someone to spend her evenings with.
Above anything else – Haywood’s easy-going, enthusiastically likeable personality is the real draw for this show. Her comfortable demeanour on stage helps her to effortlessly portray the slightly madcap yoga instructor obsessed with the outdated self-help books. There is a LOT of audience participation – some as simple as chanting along with a mantra, others requiring laying on the stage to enact a few risqué yoga poses alongside her. Although some of the tasks would make many want the ground to open up underneath them, Haywood ensures the willing participants are comfortable at all times, her endearing and engaging manner allowing even the most awkward encounters become cringe-free and instead, brilliantly good humour. Her script is well-rehearsed, with the comic timing paced steadily throughout the hour long runtime. There is a brief rhyming monologue nearing the end of the show which is flawlessly performed and excellently inserted into the storyline to help wrap up the few loose ends and close out the show with a bang.
Haywood’s effortless charm and personable humour means that it doesn’t matter what demographic or level of knowledge you have on the karma sutra or downward dogs – yoga’nna enjoy the show regardless.
Runs Until 13th July 2024
RatedReviewed 
Completed. Very Good Review!
LikeLike