Reviewed by Jo Tomalin
ForAllEvents.com
Batshit Solo Show with Leah Shelton (Photo Credit: Brandon Patoc)
Leah Shelton performs Batshit, a one person show, also created by Shelton and directed by Ursula Martinez at The Studio, Bing Concert Hall presented by Stanford Live, Stanford, California, February 4 to February 7 2026. Written by Shelton and Christine Shelton in collaboration with Martinez, Batshit is a dynamic exploration of mental health diagnosis inspired by their grandmother Gwen’s story.
Shelton arrives in a flouncy turquoise prom dress reminiscent of the 60s then does a song and dance number and tells a joke or two. Throughout the show she creatively transforms several times into both abstract forms and characters as she leads us through a poignant story. We get to know Gwen through Leah as this ethnographic memory album unfolds. Whether she is holding an axe or a microphone Leah is a force of nature!
From Perth, Australia, Gwen’s psychiatric reports appear on a screen upstage with searing details questioned by Leah Shelton. How was the population diagnosed? Or misdiagnosed decades ago? And what about these days? Shelton is a self described psycho-siren with substantial dance and theatrical movement training who successfully melds it with a mission to create “stylized, guttural, renegade feminist work soaked in cult references and dark humour.”
What sets Batshit apart is the very creative way that Shelton tells, crafts and performs this story, with a variety of visuals, voiceovers, video, characters and images so that the fifty minute story is entertaining, enlightening and builds to an unexpected moving and joyously innovative final scene.
There are so many moments that stand out as they flash by! Highlights are when Shelton is swallowed by the cushions of the chaise in an outstanding physical scene on the Stylish set by Shelton with Freddy Komp, including a retro TV on stage that not only shows fascinating black and white clips of familiar TV shows but also projects the actual audience – plus unforgettable interviews from past decades of people in the street being asked whether their life is dull! All these elements add up to the deliciously imaginative, visual and physical storytelling imagery Shelton and Martinez create in Batshit.
A program note says that Shelton hopes that this story will resonate with others to tell their own stories on these topics with the goal of improving things. Exiting the theatre, I heard people doing exactly that, which shows the power of theatre. Make no mistake, we are on a journey – Leah’s and Gwen’s journey – where Shelton shares her innovative humor and poignant zaniness to make a point about an important topic, 5 Stars!
More Information:
Stanford Live
Originally from England Jo Tomalin is currently based in the San Francisco Bay Area, where she is a reviewer for Dance & Theatre at www.ForAllEvents.com and works in the performing arts as a freelance movement specialist, director + actor. She is also a Professor of theatre performance in the School of Theatre & Dance at San Francisco State University, teaching Movement and Voice for actors, Storytelling and Acting.
Jo Tomalin studied Classical Ballet for 12 years. She graduated from London University’s Laban Centre teaching credential program in Modern Dance, Art of Movement & Choreography, then she trained in Physical Theatre, Masks, and Devised theatre at the renowned professional acting school “Ecole Internationale de Théâtre Jacques Lecoq” Paris, France. Jo studied Classical Acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), London; and holds an A.T.C.L. in Voice and Acting from Trinity College of Dramatic Art, London, and a PH.D. in Education from Capella University, MN, USA.
