Ria Lina. Mother, Phd level
scientist. Producer of West End cabaret.
Performer. Comedian. Singer and musician. In 2012, I personally added
something else to her list of personal properties, all achieved before
hear early 30’s. Ria is on the spectrum.
When I first explained to Ria whom and what she was, I had
no idea she would translate it into performance. Silly me. She
proceeded to use the medium of stand up comedy to reflect on her new found
reality. But typically for these things, the motivation was due to a bad
incident.
This year Ria’s joking about the
difference between the term ‘special’ and the slang expression ‘Thpethial’
(said in a way that denoted low IQ and overall capacity) caused some
controversy. Which caused Ria to think about why this had happened and to
produce an entire show focused around the debate.
We are led into a world of
neurodiversity, something she explains she’d had no idea about, through the
entertaining mediums of jokes (wry comments you have to react to) and deft use
of a ukulele. Ria is no ordinary woman commenting on a diagnosis.
Having previewed her show in the basement of the National Autistic Society, she took it to a prime Edinburgh Fringe
venue and did a well received three week run.
The concept and particularly the
title have already attracted more criticism. Ria’s show is not offensive
at all, rather she tries to make sense of her new found reality – which
actually has always been the case. Who or what are you as someone of her
accomplishments and ability when it turns out you personally are ‘special’?
One
major point Ria makes is that in order to express the reality that we both
share, you have to use phrases and terms reserved for people quite unlike
us. But so far, that is as much as our society has given us. Ria’s
show represents a start in bringing a whole new frame of reference to our
society, and very funnily too. She is to be congratulated in her first
attempt to express, as nicely as possible, what it is like to find the answer
to a question you never knew your family and yourself faced? What are
we? Why are we the way we are?
So don’t worry about the
title. Because ultimately Ria challenges that even the ‘special needs’
amongst us should accept that they are not so totally sacred and precious that
they cannot be targets for comedy. Far from it. All through our
‘special’ lives, we people living with autism are constantly facing ridicule
and the attempts of others to express how our reality can be perceived.
Ria tries to show that these taunts are also perfectly valid and universal
perspectives.
We who are relatively disabled
cannot bury our heads in the politically correct sand, and pretend the rest of
the world is not out there. Ria’s show is ultimately an attempt to ‘get
real’ about ourselves. I think it works too. I challenge anyone to
find anything quite like it.
Review by Paul Wady
Ria is performing 'Thpethial' on
12 and 14 November at The Lounge at Leicester Square Theatre. You can buy
tickets here: http://leicestersquaretheatre.ticketsolve.com/shows/873503418/events
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