Review: Your Favourite American Woman

📍 Canal Cafe Theatre (Camden Fringe)

🗓️ 16th August 2026

🎟️ PR Invite

📸 Your Favourite American Woman

Written and performed by Ciarlene Coleman, Your Favourite American Woman is a 50-minute play which has just completed its Camden Fringe run. It’s her second production, following Your Best American Girl, and I was lucky enough to catch it on its closing night.

The show follows C, an Asian American woman and history professor’s assistant who now lives in the UK. When you first enter the Canal Café Theatre, the space is set up almost like a cabaret, with round tables, atmospheric lighting and almost Parisian-like music. Then you notice that Ciarlene is already on stage, sitting at a table with her back to the audience and fanning herself. I was already very much intrigued by the show before it had even begun.

Once the show starts, everything becomes clear. We are not actually in a cabaret at all; instead, C is a history professor’s assistant and we are her students. Over the 50 minutes, we are given facts about American history and Orientalism, while also being encouraged to discuss these topics with the other “students” sitting at our tables. I thought this was a really clever way of bringing audience participation into the show without it ever feeling too daunting or uncomfortable.

All of this is delivered through Ciarlene speaking to us as though she is the teacher in the room, with moments of song throughout. There are also visuals on a projector screen behind her, which all work together to keep the show moving and give it a really interesting structure.

Ciarlene is such an engaging performer. She really draws you into her story and gets you thinking about things in a different way, perhaps even making you consider perspectives you may not have thought about before. She connects with the audience really well, using eye contact to make the audience participation feel incredibly natural. I felt like we were getting to know C throughout the performance and understanding more about who she is, what has shaped her and how she has got to where she is now.

There is a lot going on underneath these history lessons and personal stories. The show looks at why the American Dream can hold such a strong appeal for Asian people, what happens when they finally experience it, and whether it is actually what they expected it to be. It also explores how C, as an Asian American woman, can be perceived within the Western world, as well as C’s own fears about living in America and what the future could look like for her. These fears ultimately play a part in her decision to move to the UK.

I really liked the way the story is told through these “history class” conversations while also linking back to Ciarlene’s own experiences. The different sections move from the first day of class to conversations with her husband and father, while also bringing in moments from her past and showing how they have led her to where she is now. The scene changes are also broken up by videos playing on the projector screen, including videos of Asian people and different aspects of their lives, which help to explore what life can look like compared to the idea of the American Dream. I think this works really well in terms of the pacing of the show, as it gives you time to take in everything being discussed without the show ever feeling rushed.

The music also adds another layer to the show. Ciarlene has a really beautiful tone to her voice and she draws you into these moments so naturally. The movement throughout the musical numbers is also really effective, helping to add another depth to her performance. The lighting was also really effective, adjusting based on the weight of the story C was telling and helping to emphasise some of the more serious moments.

The show also touches on C’s love for the arts and the power of seeing art in our everyday lives. I liked this because it feels like another important part of C's story, what matters to her and her culture, while also making you think about the role art plays in our own lives.

At 50 minutes, Your Favourite American Woman packs a lot in. There’s American history, Orientalism, identity, the American Dream, C’s fears about the future, her relationships and her love of the arts. There is a lot to process, but the pacing is really well done and the show never feels rushed. There’s just a lot to take in within those 50 minutes, and some of it takes a little time to sink in.

One of the things I really liked about Your Favourite American Woman was how personal and intimate it felt. Ciarlene isn’t just telling us a story; she’s bringing us into her classroom, getting us involved and sharing her own experiences. It makes the show feel really personal, while also giving the audience plenty to think about. It was an interesting, thought-provoking and really engaging way to spend an evening.

Your Favourite American Woman ran at Canal Cafe Theatre from 11th–16th August as part of Camden Fringe.