Review: Catch Your Breath at Cast Doncaster

“…an evening that I won’t forget in a while…”

Catch Your Breath by Ed Patrick, Cast Doncaster

By Grace Sansom

Belly laughs, utter charm and full of heart… Catch Your Breath is not comedy to anaesthetise, but instead alert you to what really matters.

Dr Ed Patrick is an NHS anaesthetist by day and touring comedian by night. His jokes have been favourites of the Fringe, making it into the Times and Telegraph’s ‘best’ lists. I’d say he’s easily made it onto Cast’s ‘best’ list now too – a much more impressive feat…

Patrick’s infectious charisma and wit commanded the stage and brought his audience to shrieks of laughter. But his earnestness made the show a tender one, and its ending tugged on every heart string. It isn’t easy to master this contrast in a stand-up set. Bravo, Doc!

For reviewing backup, I brought my best friend along to see this with me – a real life (and brilliant) NHS doctor. Many in the audience seemed to have done the same, with Patrick joking that the audience was better staffed than an NHS hospital. This was a risky audience for Patrick, but he played everything wonderfully. Not offensive, just cheeky and joyful.

The jokes are hilarious, but they do not ridicule. All NHS jokes landed perfectly, with nuanced genius. My Dr Best Pal agrees; she came out of the show beaming and chuckling away, feeling totally seen. I breathed a delighted sigh of relief.

Catch Your Breath isn’t a comedy show that bashes our country’s health system, beating something while it is very much down. It is instead a very realistic love letter about a very real relationship. There are ups and there are downs. And like all relationships should have, hard no’s as to what should be inserted where and how far… (Patrick made us all aware that this is a very real issue our healthcare system is facing!).

Yes, the IT systems are ancient – to the point where patients are easily marked deceased, or as horses. Yes, medical students must digest tomes of information and are then pushed out into the madness so forcefully that common sense evaporates – with the funniest joke of the night being a newly qualified Patrick giving a testicular exam on his knees. Patrick hammers home the message that this is a very human institution that works best when you pay attention to the little things – the humble key in all relationships.

Instead of stats and figures on a screen, Patrick puts a face to these issues – both professionally and personally. You see a sparkling, bright, witty, warm doctor talking about his experiences, but also a son talking about his mother’s battle with Parkinson’s disease, who worked tirelessly with NHS professionals to get this diagnosis. You see both sides of this human coin and a lot of the doom and gloom, regurgitated by various political parties, is put into perspective.

Most of us will not be able to control the exclusive (billionaire) boy’s club that oversees our healthcare service. But what we can control is our outlook. What we can control is where our anger or disappointment is directed. Catch Your Breath shows a real face working for and using the real NHS – an everyman. He’s hardworking, hilarious and human. And like most doctors, powerless over the system at large.

But he has power over the little things. He had power over his mum’s Parkinson’s diagnosis, showing how the families of patients and staff must work together to get the best outcome. We cannot be divided with both sides resenting each other. This won’t work.

Parkinson’s has affected my family deeply and its focus in the shows ending was handled spotlessly. It wasn’t dramatic or used as a sob story ploy. Patrick’s storytelling is sensitive, and this delicate ending grounded all his funny gags and silliness. It lifts Catch Your Breath to another level.

Catch Your Breath shows you how to laugh at the funny bits, squirm at the cringey bits and be rightfully annoyed at the bad bits. The NHS is made up of millions of ordinary humans working their hardest to bring extraordinary outcomes. I urge anyone doubtful of our marvellous service to come and see this show.

Dr Ed Patrick created an evening that I won’t forget in a while. I was sucker punched by elite joke telling and heartfelt storytelling that made me appreciate this country in a whole new light. Do not miss this show – doctor’s orders.

Huge kudos to Peter Brush’s support act too! It is no easy feat, and his set was delivered with skilful irreverence and endearing awkwardness. He has jokes involving glow-in-the-dark condoms and moths, hairdressers and undertakers, and Mario Bros. and vintage pornography that are simply side splitting. Brush is one to watch out for.

Catch Your Breath plays at Cast Doncaster on Wednesday 29 October.

Grace Sansom is a freelance theatre critic and arts and cultural journalist based in Doncaster, covering productions in Doncaster, Sheffield, Leeds and York. She has been reviewing theatre for 7 years, published locally and nationally, for digital and in print publications. In 2023, Grace won a place on the prestigious Edinburgh Fringe Society’s Emerging Critic Scheme, reviewing and commentating for The Herald. Grace has worked in arts marketing and communications for 5 years, now working in Digital Content for the Booker Prizes. Grace also runs the Doncaster Creatives’ Book Club, writing and publishing book content on their popular Substack. You can find Grace on Instagram.