Cristina Varga has written this show for herself based on her experiences as a Romanian resident in England. Close Enough is playing at the Etcetera Theatte in Camden Town as part of the 2024 Camden Fringe.
Part deprecating srand-up, part sultry cabaret, Varga takes us on a journey through language, national customs, economics, the job market, and her own perception as an immigrant in a place she may now call home.
In a show which is still slightly uneven, we hear about the problems of learning ‘proper’ English only to grapple with regional accents, what rules you should follow to be ‘British’ (saying “sorry” is, of course, the important one).
Varga is charismatic and confident, and frank about the lot of immigrants who don’t seek to offend but do seek money, who want to work but don’t always understand the idiosyncrasies of being a Brit.
Close Enough is a show which has its heart firmly open and some great ideas about living as an immigrant and using a second language, but needs a bit more focus and a slightly brisker pace.
We heat about the inability to articulate everyday English, about the opportunities available to educated East Europeans (Varga was a ‘cleaner in a yacht factory’), and the pressures of home, where gran expected young ladies to ‘stay home and make babies’.
Is home here, or there? How hard is it to fit in with a country which seems to have more money and ‘bettet’ everything. Varga demonstrates good eye contact and a high level of confidence throughout.
There’s some interesting use of both video and a hand-held microphone with looping vocals. What’s already here is Close Enough to a very enjoyable show, but there’s much more to explore about England’s current anti-immigrant narrative.
At one point, Varga notes she is ‘in danger of being dramatic’, but that’s no bad thing, and Close Enough ultimately nudges the edge of serious topics, but treats them with the lightest touch.
***.5