I saw Celexia, written and performed by Alexa R. McGinn, last night at the Victoria Fringe Festival. Celexia is a deep and thought-provoking account of McGinn’s own relationship with a dyslexia diagnosis.
I was immediately drawn in to McGinn’s performance; she has a sharp and witty style. Her extremely personal story begins in childhood, and it’s apparent she’s very bright early on, as she began reading at a young age and absorbed many books that are usually reserved for young adulthood. The audience will undoubtedly think, “how does dyslexia fit in here?” But it does.
This piece is very informative. Before I saw it, I believed that dyslexia meant difficulty reading, and mixing up letters and words on the page. McGinn, with her razor-sharp tongue, explains the difference: her dyslexia presents as having no issue with reading or writing, but the thought process of putting thoughts to paper could take longer, as well as her ability to practice handwriting “correctly.”
McGinn is able to relay her experiences in childhood and young adulthood with humour, wonder, and a bit of despair; it will make the audience mourn with her over her struggles growing up. She also mixes her storytelling with some jokes, some poetry and even some dancing, which is something I usually find a bit cringey, but in Celexia I found it fit perfectly.
Celexia is a work of art; moving, funny, and extremely engaging. I loved that I learnt from it, and that I felt my mind opening up as I watched it. McGinn will be taking this piece far.
The Victoria Fringe Fest runs until Sunday, September 3.