Showing at the Edinburgh Fringe in both live and digital formats, Nicole Nadler’s show Why Am I Like This? takes an honest look at one woman’s experience with ADHD.
Produced by High Heels and Heavy Suitcases Productions, this is a slice of comedy that displays a sincerity and honesty that will resonate with any audience.
As a chatty, eager, over-achieving easily distracted and untidy child, Nadler searched for an answer why she was frustrated in herself or affected by the comments of others who found her difficult when she was “a burst of sparkles in a sea of beige”.
A love for performing and an eventual diagnosis on the neurodiversity spectrum led to this captivating show. It’s bright, affirmative, and relatable.
The delivery is on the manic side at times, but that adds to the comedy and the openness with which Nadler shares her own personal story.
This online version of this show is well-crafted, easy to watch, and deals with a theme that is very current. Nadler is a late-80s baby who spent thirty years feeling she had a “character flaw.”
Why Am I Like This? looks at the science around ADHD in women, with symptoms and diagnoses missed, and finding that someone else’s lived experience “clicks.”
The show details the reality of ADHD and neurodiversity from one personal perspective, which may help some people recognise traits in themselves, family, or friends. Or, to gain some understanding of those who live with this every day.
I really appreciated this show, and Nadler’s performance – her debut – is strong, powerful, and confident. Her story of diagnosis (she went private to validate her self-diagnosis and has gone public with the issues this has caused since).
At a breakneck forty minutes, this is a little gem to fit into your schedule – for the live show book here and for the on-demand stream book here.
*****