The Edinburgh Fringe has long provided a platform for talented creatives to marshal their skills into deeply personal storytelling. Shamaniac, written and performed by veteran American screen actor Dede Lovejoy, taps into this rich tradition. Billed as a ‘spiritual traumedy’, the hour tracks her flight from traditional Western medicine toward sound baths, spirit guides, and radical diets. Lovejoy never alienates her audience with these concepts. Instead, she delivers a compelling, grounded, and uplifting piece of theatre.
The catalyst for this sudden detour into alternative healing is a brutal run of physical misfortune. Lovejoy—recognisable to many from her television work on The Wire and The Blacklist—details a terrifying period defined by unexplained, debilitating seizures.
Just when she thinks she has a handle on that, a freak elevator accident nearly severs her hand. Emotionally shattered and frustrated by a clinical establishment unable to provide lasting solutions, she goes off-road. What follows is a frantic search for recovery. Emboldened by vivid mid-seizure visions, she throws herself into alternative therapies, shamanic rituals, and strict lifestyle overhauls.
The universal search for healing
You do not need to share Lovejoy’s specific spiritual philosophies to appreciate her journey. At its core, this is a story about finding self-forgiveness, remaining open to personal evolution, and learning to let go of past dreams so you can give birth to new ones. The production works so well because Lovejoy is such an immensely likeable and talented actor.
She relives her bizarre medical and mystical adventures with expert craft and razor-sharp, self-aware wit, ensuring the heavy subject matter never drags. Dede Lovejoy knows when to land a punchline and when to let the silence last. You can feel her honesty at all times: it underlines how bad her low points were, whilst making the good times glow.
“Lovejoy never alienates her audience with these concepts. Instead, she delivers a compelling, grounded, and uplifting piece of theatre.”
Operating within the intimate Mint Studio at Greenside, director Joy Donze keeps the pacing tight. Stripped of elaborate sets or gimmicks, the show relies on Lovejoy’s storytelling instincts and a single chair. She makes the most of this lone prop, continuously shifting the angles from which the audience experiences her, while using it as a stand-in for everything from a psychologist’s couch to her beloved Vespa. Shamaniac is a piece of theatre, not a lecture.
In the end, Shamaniac takes a deeply personal journey from crisis to recovery and transforms it into accessible, moving entertainment. Lovejoy asks her audience to remain open to the concept of personal growth by alternative means, and she earns that open-mindedness through sheer craft. It is a highly enjoyable, compelling hour of storytelling that deserves to find a wide and appreciative audience.
Show details
Venue: Venue 236: Greenside @ George Street, The Royal Society of Edinburgh, 22-26 George Street, EH2 2PQ (Google Maps)
Date(s): Fri 07 Aug to Sat 29 Aug (21 shows)
Time(s): 4:15pm (60 mins)
Age recommendation: 16+
Price: From £12 (concessions available)
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