So, what’s a “stan”? That’s one of the questions posed by writer-performer Alexis Sakellaris in their Edinburgh Fringe show A Stan Is Born.
You may recognise the term from Eminem’s song of the same name from 2000, where a deranged and obsessive fan resorts to violence to get his idol’s attention.
You might also understand the term as a contraction of the word “superfan”, so someone who collects, follows, and reveres everything about the object of their interest.
Sakellaris looks at the concept of the “nice voices and big personalities” which attracted them as a young gay teenager growing up in the German countryside.
From Barbra to Celine, Aretha to Beyonce, and beyond, these women captured their interest while their straight peers were “wrestling on the soccer pitch”. By integrating songs into the show, they treat their confusion in puberty with honest reflection and a side of comedy.
Navigating the disapproval of their father and the derision of their classmates, Sakellaris takes refuge in the world of women celebrities and the drag artists who emulate them, finding a safe space from the realities of the abuse they face from without and self-doubt from within.
With a homophobic dad and transphobic mum, the idolisation of the unattainable seems sweet (although, of course, no idol lives up to how we transform them in our heads).
In noting that “women aren’t perfect, divas have their flaws”, Sakellaris reflects on how we can fall down under the stress of trying to attain a form of perfection that just doesn’t exist.
A Stan Is Born is an intriguing piece of theatre that has a sugary centre but also a bitter taste when it reflects on the cruelty of the world to women and gays.
When “Stan” from the Eminem video pops in via a disembodied voice to offer “advice” the show gets surreal and moves on to self-belief and self-acceptance.
With a great melodic voice and self-deprecating manner, Sakellaris makes A Stan Is Born a positive experience while touching on the experience of one youngster who wants to do something, belong, and get out of the little village in which they were born.
The t-shirts adorning the wall of the theatre each celebrate a female icon, but perhaps the ultimate answer is to “stan” yourself, and so the final moments are pure Alexis as “little gay diva” connecting with their own potential “stans”.
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A Stan Is Born played at the Edinburgh Fringe and subsequently at Camden People’s Theatre.