Psycho-geography is described as an approach to geography that emphasises ‘drifting’ in urban environments. Diana Cristina DeFex Sierra’s show is own story of ‘drifting’ from dangerous 1990s Medellin to post 9/11 America and finally over to dodgy suburbs of Paris. It’s an interesting story. But what you see on stage is mostly unnecessary. There’s a lot of half-hearted mime, some props that make appearances for only a few seconds and some terrible sound effects. The effect is to make a true story seem almost ridiculous. With fewer masks and strange dance scenes, everything would be a lot more poignant and moving. In fact if you close your eyes, you can just imagine the whole thing as a radio play.
Diana’s wanted to do the show to break the silence that she felt se had been keeping her whole life and as a way of making sense of her own life story. Unfortunately whilst she might be making sense to herself it’s often very difficult to understand what she is doing so that when she start doing a robot impression, it’s really quite confusing. And whilst it’s generally overacted it’s lacks an inner fire that would really bring it to life. ‘Psycho-geography’ would be interesting on the radio or in a book but it just doesn’t work on the stage.