Seen at Edinburgh Festival Fringe on the 12^th of August 2023

4 stars – aesthetic political performance

A dark stage, projected childhood photos from which the performer’s profile detaches, and the most beautiful soundscape of my 2023 Fringe. Her story of migration echoes in her Tigrinya words, in her songs, in her poetic construction.

In her mesmerising performance, Lula Mebrahtu blends together a variety of means and styles. She uses MiMU gloves to control lights and sound effects, thus not depending on a person in the regie. This gives the performance a different reading: her hand gestures are not, or not always, those of the actress, nor the dancer. They are not always meaningful for the audience, because they are often addressed to the machine. This creates a weird body language, that the audience can’t understand, but has to surrender to. The most interesting, comprehensible and powerful feature is her using her own fingers as a musical instrument.

The title is an acronym for ‘One of many, many of One’, which summarises Lula Mebrahtu’s aim to make her own autobiographical experience a collective one, and represent the collective through the autobiographical. The show hasn’t got a strong, articulated narrative, but is rather a composition of spoken, musical (the a cappella moments are absolutely wonderful), and dance parts. In OommoO, the performer altogether creates a beautiful aesthetic, while raising important questions on racism and on the challenges that still await a first-generation migrant like her.

Tickets and Info: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/oommoo

Company Website: https://www.lulamebrahtu.com/