A modern-day Casanova, Obehi Janice regales the audience with tales of her sexual and romantic exploits in this delightfully raunchy work. They move between funny, sad and plain weird, narrated with such candour and detail that the crowd is transported. Whatever the story, Janice’s stage presence is always electric. She masterfully navigates explicit subject matter with a conversational, playful tone, so that listening to her speak feels like gossiping with a friend over cocktails.

What begins as a simple journey through one person’s sexual history, however, takes on much more depth as the show goes on. Janice admires Casanova at first, her desire to be like him stemming from the romcom of the same name, but her own encounters are more emotionally complicated. You get the impression that perhaps they are not all equal and loving, and that moving through the world as a Black woman necessarily changes the nature of her relationships.

In exploring Casanova’s legacy and how it has affected her own (as well as her lovers’) outlook on sex, she asks important questions: what does it mean to be a great lover? Can good relationships come from following in Casanova’s footsteps, or should people look to do something new? Nova is breathtaking in its originality, as entertaining as it is intellectually provocative. Themes are explored with great subtlety, letting the audience come to their own realisations even as Janice tells an incredibly personal tale. This one is a must-see. 

Nova, Lyceum Theatre, until 27 August, 5pm.