![\"Erika](\"https://smartcdn.gprod.postmedia.digital/edmontonjournal/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/erika-macdonald-tea-time_304709263.jpg\" "\\"Erika")
Erika MacDonald: Tea Time
4 stars (Out of 5)
Stage 28, Roots on Whyte Community Building, 8135 102 St.
Ted Lasso famously hates it, but Erika MacDonald is very much a proponent of tea; so much so that the Kentucky-based performer has written a 60 minute show around it.
Or rather, she circles around the subject of tea in spirals of absurdist glee, preparing it, ruminating on it, even breaking out into the occasional dance to celebrate it. So, what is Tea Time, you ask? It’s several things, actually.
Tea Time is a step-by-step guide on how to properly prepare tea. It’s a warm reflection on the importance of ritual, and contemplation on mental health. It’s possibly what happens when a group of Rocky Horror fans decide to bring the call and response aspect of that show to a Mr. Rogers episode. It’s a reenactment by aliens from thousands of years in the future as they study phrases like “This might seem silly to you, but it matters to me,” obsessively repeating it, turning it over, rephrasing it to better understand ancient human wisdom.
Important note: the author and performer of this play likely vehemently disagrees with those last two interpretations.
Tea Time is not for everyone, but it’s certainly for someone in your life.