Alexis Sakellaris proves a hugely charming perfomer in the entertaining A STAN IS BORN! at Camden People’s Theatre
“Will my problems go away
If I act like Beyoncé?
Whether its etymology comes from a portmanteau of stalker and fan, or a direct reference to the Eminem (featuring Dido) song of the same name, the reality of being a stan is the same – being a highly, even excessively, enthusiastic fan of the object of your obsession. Some buy all the t-shirts, others launch all-out online war against anyone who goes against them. Alexis Sakellaris is fortunately one of the former.
A STAN IS BORN! arrives at Camden People’s Theatre after a successful run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and it is easy to see why. His warmth and vivacity is evident from the outset and proves entirely infectious as he takes us through a merry hour, full of reflections on his eventful childhood (moving from NYC to rural Germany) and acceptance of his queerness, with the help of divas aplenty and a suite of original songs.
For all its lighthearted presentation, there’s a deeply considered thoughfulness to the show as well though. Sakellaris really probes into the reasons why people develop such intense relationships with celebrities and reflects those right back onto himself, examining his own connections with the women in his life and the extent to which those have shaped his own identity and whether any of this could ever possibly be healthy.
The songs keep things chirpy, impressions of certain key divas are well observed and there’s a clear-eyed view of how problematic behaviour from those we worship can and should be reckoned with (I’d love to sit in a bar with Alexis and chat Janet right now…). A riff on how LGBTQ+ fans have variously uplifted Troye Sivan and Chappell Roan emphasises the currency of this cultural commentary but above all, it is the abundance of queer joy in A STAN IS BORN! that should make fans of us all.
