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Ed Patrick: Catch Your Breath

 
Katerina Partolina Schwartz Review by Katerina Partolina Schwartz 3 Published: 17 Aug 2023 The Stand’s New Town Theatre Show Dates: 10 Aug 2023-27 Aug 2023

Ed Patrick starts his show Catch Your Breath with a simple, “I’m a doctor, so I’m running late,” a rather light-hearted, if telling, joke that puts us at ease with its self-deprecatory if depressingly realistic tone.

Depressingly realistic

This show is a great insight into what it means to be a junior doctor, and the pressures and failings of the NHS. Within the hour, Patrick manages to share stories that outline both the problems within the NHS and the ridiculous situations that a junior doctor might find themselves in. In Catch Your Breath, the overall delivery of the material is incredibly measured; they’re funny but they’re not hilarious, and the segues between topics aren't always entirely clear. The anecdotes are humorous, but there is an edge to them because Patrick isn’t just making observations for comedy, but he’s describing a very real problem with the NHS. And not in the funny final exam way that Patrick so helpfully – if a little shockingly – describes. Luckily, Catch Your Breath ends on a positive note, because otherwise this would be a slightly depressing show, one that would be difficult to laugh through.

Because of this atmosphere that Patrick creates, some of the anecdotes do seem a little out of place, especially when Patrick describes some of the more awkward positions he has been in when training to be a doctor. Patrick shares scenarios and positions that no one should be in, but the note he ends on is hopeful enough, not necessarily to restore his faith or ours but to show that what we have is still better than nothing.

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The Blurb:

NHS anaesthetist, comedian and author Ed Patrick injects the Edinburgh Fringe with a gut-punch show about becoming a junior doctor, the NHS, the pitfalls of modern medicine and the power of questioning it. There’s plenty of laughing gas to go round. 'Brilliantly funny’ (Matt Lucas). ‘Had the audience in fits of laughter’ (The Scotsman) 'Extremely funny' (Telegraph) 'Masterful, playfully provocative writing' (Chortle.co.uk). 'Packed with funny anecdotes' (Guardian). As seen on Channel 4 and heard on BBC Scotland, BBC Radio 2 and BBC Radio 4. Edpatrickcomedy.com