Adelaide Fringe: Yana Alana: Between The Cracks

“Before we start, you should know that there’s nudity and coarse language in this show,” says Yana Alana, a character portrayed by the award-winning Sarah Ward, standing up on stage, covered in nothing but blue body paint. Nudity: tick. “So if you don’t like any of that – fuck off!” Coarse language: tick. Right, let’s get this show on the road.

Between The Cracks deals with Yana’s battle with depression, her time in rehab and her inability to say sorry (a characteristic she shares with many of the political leaders of Australia). In particular, Yana can’t seem to say sorry to her co-star Jo, whose manager seems persistent in contacting her at the worst possible time. The running gag between Alana and Jo is humorous and helps build each of their characters, but at times feels overemphasised.

Beginning with a fitting number about being blue, representing Yana’s mental and physical state, the audience are treated to an array of stories, songs, interpretative dance and advice from her self-published book Go Fuck Yourself, which at this stage is the only one of its kind.  

Yana’s interaction with the crowd is comfortable and enjoyable. From offering a plastic sheet to a man in the front row so that she could sit on him, to suggesting another man a few seats down enjoys being fisted and telling a lady she looked like Burt Bacharach, Yana Alana gets away with an awful lot thanks to her bright and bubbly demeanour and big laughs after each sentence.

Yana’s voice is stunning. She has a range almost as wide as the smile on her face, which is eerily similar to the cat from Alice In Wonderland. Between The Cracks is an insightful, fast-paced and hilarious cabaret which you’ll leave with a smile almost as big as hers.

Deluxe, Garden Of Unearthly Delights to 1 Mar