In The Sick of It – Unity Theatre

‘In the Sick of It’, at the Unity Theatre in Liverpool, was an evening of highly enjoyable verbatim theatre and top-notch storytelling. Devised and acted by Adam McGuigan and Antonia Kemi Coker of Wake the Beast Theatre Company, Liverpool was treated to an intimate preview before the company head to Edinburgh for a hefty Fringe run.

‘In the Sick of It’ is a compilation of stories from NHS and healthcare workers who worked tirelessly through COVID and continue to work post-pandemic. Wake the Beast have been working on this show for four years, with the intention of bringing it to care homes and hospitals as an offering of catharsis for those working in healthcare. While I imagine it was a huge success in those specific sites, I’m so glad the company have decided to share this brilliant work with a wider audience.

With minimal lighting and set, this piece is truly the perfect Fringe show. We’re introduced to the piece by Adam, who explains what the show is about, and while the two actors throw themselves in and out of different characters, the house lights never go down – we, the audience, are part of the show. What follows is a high-octane sixty-minute performance that is hugely enjoyable and engrossing from start to finish. While the focus is on the stories of those working in healthcare, the show also shines a light on the ethics of verbatim theatre, as well as touching on the moral quandary of a life in art vs. a career in medicine. Throughout the story, music and dance play such a key role in keeping people sane that they prove you can’t have one without the other. Despite the often harrowing, often traumatizing stories that are being shared, there is a natural backbone of humour as an undercurrent throughout. As one character tells us as they dress in DIY PPE made of bin-bags, “it was funny, but it wasn’t”. There is a gentle humour and constant warmth that really allows the empathetic nature of the piece to shine through.

As it says on the blurb, Adam and Kemi have 500 stories to get through, and while you might fear the pacing could get muddled trying to achieve such a feat, the actors take great care with each of the stories. Often disembodied voices projected over the PA system, or Adam and Kemi personifying the stories, each one is unique, and often heartbreaking. No one is left out either – we hear from porters, prison workers, wheelchair service staff – and neither do they shy away from the political elements of why the NHS is failing. There were head-shaking audience members called to action when Boris Johnson’s voice came over the PA, and utter silence when moments of racism against nurses were recalled, wondering if things will ever get better on a societal level. And that’s what makes this show so earnest and engaging – at no point does it offer a false hope in the form of answers but offers stories of human perseverance in their stead. While the ending was slightly abrupt, turning from performance to an audience Q&A in seconds, the intention was touching, and made an already intimate show feel like a safe space for the audience to share their stories.

In The Sick of It by Wake The Beast is running at Assembly George Square at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival from the 1^st – 26^th of August. Tickets are available on the Edinburgh Fringe Festival website at https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/in-the-sick-of-it

Reviewer: Anna Ní Dhúill

Reviewed: 30th July 2024

North West End UK Rating: