Review: Shenoah Allen: Bloodlust Summertime

American actor and comedian Shenoah Allen sets out on a quest to find his inner dread in a show about sex, drugs and murder. Now based in London, he uses the audio of crickets, his father’s footsteps and the voices of family members to evoke memories of where he came from.

Bloodlust Summertime gets off to a shaky start but once Allen gets going the audience is onboard. He talks about growing up in Albuquerque, New Mexico, with his undeniably unconventional family, including a gay father and a brain damaged uncle.

Allen has clearly been through tough times, casually mentioning that he’s “off the meds”, and describes getting familiar with drugs from an early age. Living in a family home with an open-door policy, he also found himself getting up close and personal with a murderer. He jokes about all of it and has “prepared a little comedy ha-ha” to lighten the mood. It doesn’t always work as intended, but the show needs pauses in the manic stream of dark subjects.

It's not entirely clear if Allen’s found what he’s looking for in the end of the show, but performing does appear to offer some relief from the demons that haunt him. He’s definitely got an edge to him and it’s up to each audience member to decide how sharp it is.