Words: Libby Taylor

5 Stars

If you want an afternoon of laughs, you must go to Sanjay Lago’s Love me Like a Chai Tea Latte. Right from the outset, the audience knew they had made a good choice by coming to this show. The energy with which Lago entered was immediately infectious. He soon had the audience clapping along with smiles on their faces.

As the show progressed, this translated into multiple laugh-out-loud moments as Lago shared shocking, heart-warming, and intimate stories complemented by perfectly timed facial expressions and hand gestures. Lago’s use of his entire body to bring his performance to life extended to interspersing dance throughout the piece. Lago’s joy whilst dancing was special to watch; dance breaks during solo, mainly scripted, pieces can easily become awkward, but Lago was in his element and could have kept dancing if he hadn’t more stories to tell and a Fringe schedule to stick to.

With all this joy, don’t be fooled into believing that the show is a superficial bundle of laughs with no substance. Lago shares many moments of vulnerability, talking of experience navigating racism, homophobia, being neurodiverse (or rather “neuro-delicious”) in a neurotypical world, and rejection within relationships. He expertly shifts tone, always keeping the audience on their toes. This show has developed greatly since its first iteration at last year’s Fringe, next is for Lago to build confidence in audience interaction and he will be unstoppable.

Love Me Like a Chai Tea Latte
RoxyBoxy @ Assembly Roxy
16:20
30 Jul – 25 Aug