Anime ‘n’ Chill is presented by Natalya Plays Piano, a one woman performance and her piano on stage. Natalya has created a set list that includes both niche anime as well the more classic and well-known shows like Pokemon, Naruto and Spirited Away. Throughout her performance she chats with the audience about the significance, meaning and reason of choice for the songs. Her personable nature draws us in, deepens the context of each song, and connects us to the music, as well as Natalya.

Natalya’s openness with her audience enlightens us to the fact that she has been through a rough several months losing both her pet cat and partner of 13 years to a motorcycle crash. In a finale song dedicated to her partner, she plays the iconic tune ‘The Name of Life’ from Studio Ghibli’s Spirited Away. I was moved by the emotion and gusto with which she executed this song. It would be a lie to say that there weren’t any tears shed by the audience.

Her life long love of anime is evident in her attitude when playing these songs, and this is something that connects most of the audience with Natalya. The shared admiration of anime was underlined in the audience’s responsiveness to certain song choices, and there were some clear crowd favourites, marked with cheers or gasps of recognition of each song.

If you’re looking for a show that is chill, some easy listening and conversational, or you like anime music – come watch Natalya play piano. If anime isn’t your thing she also has a show based on video game music.