Raw, confronting yet deeply relatable, Eliza Sanders’ Manage Your Expectations gives you a glimpse into the sprawling mind of an individual living with neurodivergence. Based on both the director’s ADHD diagnosis and Eliza’s experience dealing with clinical depression and acute anxiety, it expresses, through a clever and bold combination of comedy, contemporary dance and theatre, contrasted against seamless and staccato like audio visual elements, how one can find empowerment through viewing the world differently and ultimately, how we can all find a common connection in failure.

Split into seven sections, Eliza takes us on a journey of the obligatory things we must all confront as humans living in this modern world, which includes having to abide by an implicit social contract; grappling with the expectation of lovers while still trying to hold on to your own identity; the weight of childbearing and ancestral guilt along with the jubilation that can come with death.

A one woman show, incorporating sound, visual and a handy tripod, Eliza contorts comedy, contemporary dance and theatre into a genre bending performance, giving shape to an internal monologue, which leaves you spellbound and ruminating on important themes such as the need to embrace pain to enjoy the fullness and surprise of life; the struggles of finding one’s sense of self and coherence in a world, where almost everything is vying for your attention and how lying can, for some, be the key to survival.

Eliza bares all, right down to her genitals, to give us an evocative and authentic insight into her world. She reminds us we are all multifaceted and helps illustrate that for those dealing with mental ill health, as Love’s Everybody‘s Gotta Live, which she aptly dances to says, “you gotta live before you know the reason why.”

Definitely worth the watch and a strong contender for Mindshare’s Mental Health Awareness Award.

Trigger warnings to be mindful of: nudity and portrayal of abortion.
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