What does it mean to truly start over? Myah isn’t sure, but she’s quit her job and left her boyfriend, and now she’s got nowhere to go. What she does know, is that she’s never going back. Amanda Wilkin’s Shedding a Skin is not just about starting over, but finding oneself and one’s place within their community. This production, beautifully directed by Cherissa Richards and starring Vanessa Sears, makes use of every element on stage to tell its heartwarming and life affirming story. Shedding a Skin allows us to do just that, to leave the self we were at the door and emerge with a new perspective on life.

Myah is one of a handful of BIPOC people working at her posh London office. So when she’s asked to pose for a photo celebrating the company’s “diversity,” she’s excited…at first. Then she gets agitated. Newly fired and walking out with her cardboard box in hand, and hoping from some level of empathy from her partner, she arrives to his houseboat to a less than encouraging response. After a brief stint with her parents, Myah finds herself renting a room from an elderly lady in one of London’s suburbs; it’s a bus and tube ride to her new office where there’s only one other Black girl working there. Her new land lady Mildred (but always Miss T. to her face) is a no-nonsense, tiny yet full Jamaican lady of an entirely indeterminate age. Mildred is the queen of her community: she knows everyone and they know her, too. While the two initially start by living rather separate lives, the longer Myah stays the more she realizes that she enjoys Mildred’s company, and that she has a great deal more to learn from her.

Jung-Hye Kim has created a unique and interactive world for Myah to exist in. Starting with a small box, surrounded by white squares of various sizes, Myah’s world seems small and empty. But as she tell her story, those squares are able to give us more of a visual representation of her surroundings thanks to Laura Warren’s projection design. Everything from Myah’s awful bosses to the immediately recognizable pattern of Mildred’s sofa, these images allow us to feel immersed in Myah’s world.

Throughout Wilkin’s text, there are moments where we hear about events occurring parallel to Myah, usually also within the UK. Myah talks about how our newfound proximity to all of this information via social media is overwhelming; a sentiment most of us share. Yet at the end of each of these moments, something miraculous happens: Myah is able to open up her world. It starts with the roof of the box which is the main set piece, though it’s only able to be raised halfway at first. Then one side, again only halfway, then the other. Eventually the box is totally spread out as Myah has discovered and accepted her role in Mildred’s life as well as in her community.

Vanessa Sears is an absolute powerhouse in Shedding a Skin. This play is marketed as “a one-woman buddy comedy” and Sears delivers! Mastering multiple accents and playing everyone involved in the story, Sears is enchanting, vulnerable, and hilarious. There’s never a question as to which character she’s portraying as her entire physicality changes with each one. This will certainly be a career defining performance for Sears.

Shedding a Skin made me cry; so many of Myah’s vulnerable moments echo my own insecurities and concerns. On one hand, it is a comfort to know that others feel that way, on the other I wouldn’t wish these troublesome feelings on anyone. But this speaks to the heart of Shedding a Skin: connection. In those moments, I felt connected to Myah in a way that I hadn’t previously – much of our lives is very different from one another. And yet I left the theatre feeling like I had gotten to know a new friend, just as Myah gets to know Mildred. Only through true honesty with one another can we achieve this in our lives, and I think it’s a beautiful goal to strive for.

Shedding a Skin runs at Buddies in Bad Times Theatre until May 4. For more information and tickets, visit: https://www.showpass.com/shedding-a-skin/

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Cover Photo: Vanessa Sears in Shedding a Skin. Photo by Jeremy Mimnagh.

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To hear more about Shedding a Skin from Vanessa Sears herself, you can check out my podcast episode with her here: https://aviewfromthebox.net/a-view-from-the-box-the-podcast/

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