Review: JULIA MASLI: HA HA HA HA HA HA HA, Soho Theatre

Walking into Julia Masli: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha, you are greeted by the interesting sight of a mangled chair hanging from the ceiling above a microphone. The first row of audience seating is actually on the stage, chairs given numbers with white chalk on the floor. There is also a small office set up on the side of the stage including a table, laptop, chair and another microphone. 

Once the show begins, Masli slowly emerges from the wings, dressed in a blue dress and wearing a bizarre helmet on her head. The helmet has a torch on it that Masli uses to illuminate her face in the darkness as she begins chanting “ha” like a meditative “ohm,” ringing a bell after every three “ha”s. Then, she places a prosthetic leg over one of her arms, attaching a microphone to the end of it before approaching an audience member, encouraging them to complete the meditations with a “ha” of their own. Things seem peaceful, if not a bit odd.

But then, one of the audience members gets the chant wrong. In an instant, Masli becomes a ball of fury, throwing the audience member’s jacket to the ground, taking their chair and smashing it against the back wall of the theatre. It’s an incredibly jarring moment, made even creepier by Masli immediately returning to her chants with a soothing voice after dropping the mangled chair. 

But, after this moment of fury, Masli approaches another audience member, extending her prosthetic leg and asking, “Problem?” The first audience member confesses that they don’t have the energy to exist, so Masli pulls a chaise longue out from backstage and has them put on a blindfold and headphones to listen to one of her four-hour meditation CDs. A heckler is brought on stage to become Masli’s office assistant, archiving the problems and Masli’s solutions. Another audience member with a fear of disappearing is told to remove his sock, which Masli burns in a small bin. 

One brave audience member who claimed they had no problems was immediately escorted out of the show by Masli, saying, “This is a show for people with problems.” It became a running joke with the audience member returning to their seat and Masli escorting them out as soon as she noticed them. There are also quite a few funny responses, including on in which the audience member said that their problem was a “fear of public speaking” so Masli slowly said, “I walk away . . .” You can tell that some of the audience members approached are terrified, but Masli approaches them gently, encouraging them to go along with her wild ideas.

Along with absurd and funny responses to problems, there are also some more serious moments in the show. One audience member says that their family doesn’t get along with their partner and Masli grew somber, telling them that she also had the same problem as her partner is from Norway and her parents don’t speak English, meaning they cannot communicate.

Masli has her “office assistant” take down the audience member’s phone number and promises to call her in a week to discuss the struggles of cultural differences. When one audience member says they regret not communicating with their parents more before they passed away, Masli has them identify an audience member with the same “energy” as one of their parents and brings them up on stage to talk and hug it out. 

At times, the show reminded me of Punchdrunk, particularly when Masli would extend her hand out to audience members, giving them the thrill and fear that Punchdrunk audience members feel when given the opportunity to experience a one-on-one. Indeed, even though I had the fear of being selected and brought down to the stage to do something ridiculous and/or embarrassing, I also felt a little pang of jealousy each time someone else was chosen.

One of the highlights of the show is its gorgeous lighting, designed by Lily Woodford, and the sound, designed by Alessio Festuccia and operated by Jonny Woolley - though there were a few sound cue errors that appeared to startle even Masli herself, though who knows if these were not planned? The lighting and backing tracks truly help the audience join this meditative state that Masli puts herself in, allowing them to be more open with a crowd than they might have been in silence. The ending, in particular, is an incredible culmination of everything that has happened during the show. 

Ultimately, Julia Masli: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha is an absurd yet strangely comforting hour of agony aunt-style comedy that will leave you slightly nervous about having a microphone attached to a prosthetic leg being placed in front of your face for you to confess your fears to the world. Do you have a problem? Masli may be able to assist. Don’t worry. “It is going to be alright.”

Julia Masli: ha ha ha ha ha ha ha runs until 24 February 2024 at Soho Theatre.

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