THIS IS GOING TO HURT

Corn Exchange, Dorchester

ADAM Kay is a comedy writer and former doctor with a mission. He wants to tell the world that NHS hospital doctors are overworked, underpaid and badly led down by politicians. He also wants to share his experiences of weird happenings in the profession which he turns into comedy routines and silly songs.

In this short show, he recounts from his diary some of the incidents that took place while he practised medicine as a junior doctor, rising to be a senior hospital registrar before packing the whole thing in to go into showbusiness.

His ability to capture the funny side of life, even in difficult circumstances, makes him a remarkable comedy writer as he challenges the audience with medical terms and gets help with rewriting the lyrics to popular songs.

Strong language and descriptions of awkward intimate medical conditions make his performance out of bounds for some people but with an audience seeming to be mainly doctors and noisy nurses, this was not a problem for the packed house.

The adage that a comedy show should always go out on a big laugh does not apply to Adam Kay who ended his performance with a graphic description of a tragic hospital incident which he recounted with anger and pain and which prompted him to terminate his medical career, making a passionate plea for an overstretched and unappreciated profession that he cannot leave behind.

MARION COX