readingtomydogs's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
fast-paced
4.0
A fun take on embracing failure, in play form.
lx2's review
5.0
I love Vivek. Her work always blows me away. As a trans woman myself, and a writer, I find a lot of myself in her texts. With this play, she tackled the topic of failure that is so often taboo in our society—even though it is inevitable. Vivek allows and presents a vulnerability I wish we could all embrace and display.
thealyssa_ann's review
emotional
funny
fast-paced
3.5
I wish I had listened to this rather than read a physical copy because I think that would add so much. But it was a quick read full of self-deprecating humor and now I want to read Vivek Shraya’s novels.
cosmicwillow's review
5.0
Something I’ve always found excitingly daunting is jumping into a new style or genre of literature. I felt this strongly when starting Vivek Shraya’s latest book featuring her play How to Fail as a Popstar. Personally, I’ve never really felt the need to venture into reading plays because I felt as if I got my fill of that in high school, and if I desperately wanted to consume one, I could easily head into the city and get tickets to a show. But being a fan of Vivek’s work and compelled by the idea of this play, I knew I had to pick this up. And wow, am I sure glad I did!
Despite my nerves going into this piece, I immediately felt at home reading the foreword by play director Brendan Healy. I knew right there that this play would be something I highly value, and when Healy listed his three main takeaways from the play, I felt so much more eager to continue reading.
Vivek is extremely skilled in creating a compelling narrative. The majority of this play is formed around an autobiographical telling of her experiences with wanting to become a popstar from her earliest memory of music to where she sees her ultimate failure. Music is of course a key aspect of this play as it is dotted with her original songs (much to my delight as I really love her music, check her out on Spotify), and they really added so much to the story. I particularly love the closing song, Showing Up.
Check out the full review on my blog here!
Despite my nerves going into this piece, I immediately felt at home reading the foreword by play director Brendan Healy. I knew right there that this play would be something I highly value, and when Healy listed his three main takeaways from the play, I felt so much more eager to continue reading.
Vivek is extremely skilled in creating a compelling narrative. The majority of this play is formed around an autobiographical telling of her experiences with wanting to become a popstar from her earliest memory of music to where she sees her ultimate failure. Music is of course a key aspect of this play as it is dotted with her original songs (much to my delight as I really love her music, check her out on Spotify), and they really added so much to the story. I particularly love the closing song, Showing Up.
Check out the full review on my blog here!
voidboi's review
4.0
Thank you to Edelweiss for the digital ARC of this play!
I loved the honestly, passion, and voice of this work, and I wish I could have seen Shraya perform it live. The tone is funny, self-aware, and earnest. The real power of this play is how she confronts failure without trying to sugarcoat it or change the subject to more palatable reflections. Failure is hard, and painful, but it happens. I thought this was a beautiful tribute to dreams and fate.
I loved the honestly, passion, and voice of this work, and I wish I could have seen Shraya perform it live. The tone is funny, self-aware, and earnest. The real power of this play is how she confronts failure without trying to sugarcoat it or change the subject to more palatable reflections. Failure is hard, and painful, but it happens. I thought this was a beautiful tribute to dreams and fate.