UnTethered – The Glitch, London

Tana Sirois’s UnTethered at The Glitch is a funny, unflinching one-woman show that explores OCD, demisexuality, and the tangled ties between vulnerability, trauma, and connection.

UnTethered

OK now we have a theme of the week. Or month. In my last post I was talking about the coincidence of autobiographical one-woman shows where the woman is grappling with a diagnosis or disease. What I’m thinking now, and stick with me here, is someone should curate an entire theatre festival from this sub-genre! So far we’ve got:

• Brain aneurysm: Dear Annie, I Hate You by Samantha Ipema
• Primary Sclerosing Cholangitis: Outpatient by Harriet Madeley
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder: UnTethered by Tana Sirois

I can see it now: maybe some clever graphic designer could even contort a human body so the brain is at Riverside Studios in Hammersmith, the liver is at Park Theatre, and… no, the mind would have to be at The Glitch near Waterloo. Hmmm, maybe this needs some more development.

But the fact remains, theatre done right can be cathartic both for the audience and the theatremakers. And if you should “write what you know”, what better than a facet of your life that’s probably taken up more brain space than most?

In UnTethered, Sirois starts by framing the show as a bit of a trick. She’s lured us here, she claims, under false pretences, in search of a romantic partner. That conceit gradually peels back into something far more vulnerable, as she explains what demisexuality means to her and opens up about her OCD diagnosis. It’s an unexpectedly funny and often moving journey, layered with moments of discomfort, honesty and connection. It’s all handled with care: even if these identities or experiences are unfamiliar, Sirois’s humour, clarity and physical storytelling help the emotional truth to land.

Trauma Release, and a Wheel of Mayhem

Audience interaction is a constant. You won’t be asked to come up on stage (unless you really want to), but you will get eye contact. There’s a lot of space for vulnerability here, and if that’s something you’re open to, UnTethered may just leave you having unpacked and released something you didn’t even realise you were carrying. That the trauma release takes the form of a kind of strip show only makes it more memorable.

Sirois is a generous performer and a playful one. The show opens and closes with poetry, and in between she spins a frenetic web of movement, puppetry, a fight scene, dance, projections, a game show, even needle-felting. The “Wheel of Mayhem” sequence uses physical theatre to track the OCD cycle, from trigger to obsession, anxiety, compulsion, and temporary relief, and it’s one of the most effective depictions of OCD I’ve seen on stage. Direction by Polina Ionina helps keep the show focused and the right side of chaotic.

It’s not quite a solo show, strictly speaking. The fight scene tips us off to that, as does the image above. And there were moments where I felt unsure of the intent. The show’s central metaphor of “tethering” felt at times conflicted: is it comforting and grounding, or is it constricting and limiting? Perhaps that ambiguity reflects the reality of Sirois’s experience. Or perhaps the play, like its protagonist, is still a work in progress.

Either way, it’s funny, heartfelt and unafraid of emotional whiplash. If you don’t catch it in London, UnTethered is heading to Brighton next, and then the Edinburgh Fringe.

Salterton Arts Review’s rating: 3.5/5

UnTethered on at The Glitch until 26 May 2025. More info and tickets here, or read more about the show and check for future dates here.