Musical comedy can sometimes be more about clever lyrics or funny instruments than actually being able to hold a tune, but Hajar J Woodland has some serious pipes to match her lyricism in this show.
She tells us about her failed attempt to write for the Spice Girls and her years spent gigging in working men’s clubs, but she could easily take on a West End stage with these tunes and her storytelling.
Woodland deftly captures what it’s like to be both British and Iranian, growing up with two cultures in what often felt like a single-parent household. Her father’s influence is regularly woven in by asking audience members to read out some of his blunt emails, or dissecting his phone calls; a useful device that brings us right in amongst their complex dynamic. She’s even put her dad’s disapproval on her Fringe poster and leaflet, giving the one-word quote ‘haram’ (forbidden). In contrast to those harsh messages, Woodland is a warm, glowing presence on stage, glittering through various outfit changes, and even demonstrating how to wear a hijab without a pin.
She takes us through vivid childhood memories: wearing the hijab aged five; school plays; the family freezer containing both the fancy 90’s dessert Viennetta and ‘my mum’s tears’. I was thrilled to discover someone else who found watching Dawson’s Creek gave them unrealistic expectations of men. We move through her turbulent teenage mix of conformity and rebellion, where her dad says singing (her passion) is ‘haram’, and she wonders how to navigate the many ways you could be labelled a ‘whore’, or the social norms around food and consent in Iranian culture. The anecdotes are interspersed with chatty songs, just her voice and a backing track carrying her through.
While a lot of the adulthood focus explores her marriage, I would have liked to learn more about her life now, too, for example, the cool places she’s gigged, or when she appeared on the TV show Secret Genius earlier this year.
But overall, the hour quickly slips by, and we leave having learned loads about British-Iranian culture as well as Woodland’s coming-of-age story. She’s a born entertainer, whether singing about the 90s or dissecting her own name, bursting with musicality and enthusiasm.
Catch Hajar J Woodland: Hajar, Like Badger at Hoots @ The Apex (Hoot 5), 12:50pm, daily until 31st August. Get tickets here!
For more from her, follow Hajar J Woodland on Instagram.
