There is definitely something to be said about the deeply personal undertaking of recording a mixtape for yourself or for something you feel is worthy of a listening session. It is, after all, a two-sided musical time capsule that captures the highs and lows of a specific era.
You won’t find much reference to this identity device in Zorana Sadiq’s courageous one-hander Mixtape but that’s because her personal journey is filled with much, much more than hit singles from yesterday.
This is obvious from the moment the dark dressed, operatically trained vocalist steps on a minimalist stage that relies on a single seat and a cassette player for a blast of nostalgia and present day actualization. The ‘dutiful soprano’ has a personal story to tell and it’s not one you’d likely suspect.
The second child of a father accountant and mother writer from Western Canada, this high note hitter has a distinct connection to the text other performers couldn’t because they didn’t live the material like she has. Hearing is truly believing in this memory piece.
Artist angst reverberates in this piece along with estranged relationships with her parental units, the barriers she’s constructed around her, not to mention the struggle to reach a higher level plateau with scale exercises in her music program.
Make no mistake, this is Zorana Sadiq’s lifelong sound check and she’s empowered by every perfect pitch that flows from her mouth.
If you’re a music connoisseur like so many 80′s children, you’ll find a comfy home in this show. Perhaps the greatest take away is living a dream regardless of the odds of success and never letting someone else convince you otherwise.
Try as we may, none of us can get back to yesterday or fast forward to tomorrow. And if listening is an act of love as suggested in the story, get ready for an aural treasure you won’t soon leave behind.
MIXTAPE written and performed by Zorana Sadiq November 9-28, 2021 STREETCAR CROWSNEST THEATRE, 345 Carlaw Avenue, Toronto TICKETS $62.15 www.crowstheatre.com (647) 341-7390 Ext. 1010 DIRECTOR Chris Abraham
