Sikisa @ Pleasance Courtyard

Sikisa’s throwing a party, and we’re all invited.

With great music and excellent dance moves, a house party is an engaging way of framing the show, and Sikisa is a charismatic host. There’s much to enjoy here, but the show doesn’t feel quite resolved as yet.

She loves a party, but it’s got to be the right kind: baby showers not so much; weddings are tricky (if it’s not an open bar, she’s not interested); Zoom parties, just plain bad. House parties, that’s where it’s at. We meet some of the other people Sikisa has invited: her beloved best friend who’s going through a rough patch; Hannah, Sikisa’s very own Karen, who she can’t quite shake; Kenya, a judgemental frenemy; Jerome, a fuckboy whose attentions she’s trying to avoid. The story of these interactions is broken up with dance breaks, and she’s a gorgeous and committed dancer, each break ending with precision as she segues deftly back into her account. But the clarity of the show’s structure is somewhat lost with several rather rambling sequences.

In talking about her over-protective mother whose strictness left Sikisa feeling at odds with the more liberal atmosphere elsewhere on her housing estate, her feelings still seem unprocessed. There’s also scope for unpacking the initial messages on screen as the show starts – about the different ways in which women are socialised (the pressure to find value in marriage for example, so different from the values presented to boys), which might also tie in with her upbringing.

There’s no doubt though, that the glimpses of her life are absorbing: the snapshots of friends and family, and her work as an immigration lawyer (an Irish passport for £500 anyone?). It’s all good material and Sikisa is a vivid performer whose work will continue to go from strength to strength.

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Sikisa: Life of the Party, Pleasance Courtyard (Below), until 28 Aug (not 17), 8.25pm, £8-11