American stand-up Sofia May has an hour to “open our minds to hating Buddhism”. Clad in a devilish-red dress she wore during her seven-year stint as an assistant at Tara Mandala’s Tibetan Buddhist Retreat Center in Colorado’s San Juan Mountains, May doesn’t hold back in denouncing her former employer/manager as a narcissistic cult leader – we, quite literally, get the guts and all. The savagery of May’s takedown is certainly justified: she was stripped of her self-worth through a series of calculated acts, such as being forbidden from eating during daylight to reduce her cognitive function.
When she successfully riffs with the audience, May has the command of the room, but more than occasionally her one-liners – particularly when they rehash tiresome jokes about racial stereotypes – are met with awkward chair creaks. The tumbleweeds do send May into a spiral, so much so that it wouldn’t be surprising if May writes off these jokes during the rest of the show’s run.
The most gripping parts arise when May demonstrates self-awareness as to why she was susceptible to a high-control group. Ultimately, this is a show that balances vulnerability with offbeat humour to address the mechanics of human manipulation, but it never quite reaches a satisfying climax.
The Buddha Wears Prada, Laughing Horse @ Dragonfly, until 30 Aug (not 10, 17, 24), 3.15pm