Review: Speed is Emotional

Speed is Emotional
Written and performed by Jo Randerson

Speed is Emotional is exactly what it sounds like: fast, funny, a little chaotic, and completely its own thing.

Written and performed by Jo Randerson, the show dives headfirst into what it feels like to live with ADHD. Randerson invites anyone with a neurodivergent brain, and anyone who loves someone with one, to come along for the ride. The audience laughs their way through the strange, familiar, and sometimes exhausting quirks of an ADHD mind.

If you’ve seen work from Barbarian Productions before, the vibe will feel familiar: chaotic, absurd, playful, a little rough around the edges in the best possible way. The show jumps between stories, analogies, props, and visual gags that explain how an ADHD brain works.

One of the most relatable threads for me was the sense that the world around you is moving… painfully… slowly. The urge to talk faster, move faster, juggle ten things at once. That buzzing internal feeling of why is this taking so long? Randerson captures that pace perfectly. For people with ADHD, it feels like recognition. For everyone else, it’s a window into a completely different operating system.

The set deserves a special shout-out. A giant parachute rigged with pulleys rises and falls with Randerson’s movement, like the set itself is a character in the performance. Combined with visuals that pop up throughout the show, the whole thing feels like an “acid-trip PowerPoint”.

Another highlight is the onstage chemistry between Randerson and Elliot Vaughan, who is a strong contender for Best Supporting Role.  While running the sound cues, Elliot and Jo have continous back-and-forth throughout the performance delivering sharp, well-timed comedy that lifts the performance to another level.

The show is a joyful and affirming experience for neurodivergent audiences. Instead of focusing only on the challenges, it shines a light on the strengths, creativity, and resilience that come with living in a brain wired a little differently.

The final musical moment with the band is a big, celebratory finish.  I think this perhaps runs longer than it needs to. I loved how Jo invites the audience into karaoke at the end and I wonder if this invitation of audience participation could happen earlier with the band.

There’s also room for the show to grow. Much of the story sits within Randerson’s own experience, but there’s a hilarious moment where their sons pop their heads through the set to offer commentary on life with an ADHD parent. It’s a brilliant gag, and expanding that idea by bringing in the perspectives of people who orbit Randerson’s whirlwind brain could open the piece to dive beyond the self-narrative.

For those with sensory sensitivity, at times the show can get loud and intense. Sitting near an aisle or bringing earplugs could help if you need a breather.

Much like people who live with ADHD, Speed is Emotional doesn’t try to tidy things up too neatly. It’s messy, inventive, heartfelt and very funny. A show that feels like spending an hour inside someone else’s brain and discovering it’s a pretty great place to be.