This Is Going To Hurt Live
Adam Kay
Garrick Theatre
£27.50 - £37.50
Sunday Times Bestseller and International number one bestseller, This Is Going To Hurt by Adam Kay has sold over one million copies in the UK alone and has now been translated into 33 languages. It stayed in the top 10 for over a year and it's been announced that it is being adapted into a major 8 x 45-minute comedy-drama for BBC Two. It is a truly brilliant, horrifying and addictive read which I would recommend to anyone – especially those who have ever moaned about Junior Doctors.
When I first heard about This is Going To Hurt Live, I was a little confused as to what value seeing Kay himself read a few sections of the book would actually be added. However, after a couple of personal recommendations, as well as glistening reviews online, I was convinced. It would seem that many others were as crazy for Kay as I was, as the tickets were almost sold out two weeks before the show. We managed to get the last two tickets in the back row of the stalls, for a tidy sum of £27.50 each.
The show is an hour and 10 minutes, which is pretty short compared to others, but pretty long when you consider Kay is essentially delivering a one-man show. I did, however, feel that the show could have either been a little longer, or the prices a little cheaper. A mixture of readings, stand-up and music fill the time – with Kay writing over well-known songs to deliver comic bursts of genius in the form of medical diagnostics and ailments. He even creates a musical quiz, where audience members are sung certain symptoms and need to guess the condition, all to a backdrop of the ‘Hallelujah’ melody.
Kay usually sticks around after the show to do book signings and meet and greets, however, on our Bank Holiday show at 6pm he told us he was sorry that he didn’t feel quite up to it. He didn’t make a bit deal about this and just kind of dropped it in, which made me think he was a little off, and given there was a Theatre full of people to support him he really should try and shake at least a few of our hands... However, it later transpired that the poor bloke had Pneumonia (or at least thought he did, and he’s the doctor after all.) I stood firmly corrected, and gained a lot of respect for him for still even doing the show, as we all know there are people who would have cancelled for way less. Overall, This Is Going To Hurt Live is a clever, charming and hilarious hour-well-spent. If you liked the book, you’ll love this, and if you haven’t read the book, you’ll still love it. If Kay can be this good when he’s under the weather, then just imagine what he’s like when the sun’s shining.
OVERALL RATING: ****
http://www.thisisgoingtohurt.co.uk/
