Review: The Elephant in the Room

Priyanka Shetty is formidable in this one-woman performance

★★★
theatre review (edinburgh) | Read in About 2 minutes
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The Elephant in the Room, courtesy of the artist
Published 17 Aug 2022

When the phrase ‘elephant in the room’ is used, it’s usually in reference to something controversial yet wholly obvious that no one wants to draw any attention to. In Priyanka Shetty’s one-woman play, the titular elephant is Priyanka herself or more accurately, her otherness, as she attempts to reconcile her identity as an Indian woman with her present-day life in Trump’s America. 

The Elephant in the Room is an autobiographical monologue, beginning with Shetty receiving a package from an unknown sender while backstage at a theatre, waiting to perform.The contents of the package send her on a metaphorical journey, from her early life in India as a software engineer to her shift in focus to acting and eventual move to the US. 

Along the way, she questions her decisions, her duality and the path that has led her away from her parents’ wishes, all the while adamant in her rebellion and sense of belonging. There is levity in Shetty’s declaration of love for metal and her mocking of Indian aunties who like to have a say on absolutely everything, but elsewhere we are immersed in the melancholy of gendered hierarchies and racial bias. 

There are times when the narrative is not as fully developed and moves along too rapidly, such as when she reminisces on her great love and loss. But ultimately, Shetty is a formidable performer, who succeeds in switching from humour to rage in a mere minute as she recounts the knock-backs, hostility and sadness with which she navigates the world of the arts and the so-called American Dream.