Comedy Fest review: Adrian Calear - Code Grey

ADRIAN CALEAR – CODE GREY

See this show.

Code Grey is the term used by the medical fraternity to alert staff to a patient who’s lost their temper and turned aggressive. Adrian Calear’s real life story amply proves that he has plenty to get mad about. There’s the shock-inducing neglect he’s received at the hands of the establishment – not maltreatment, but dismissal based on assumptions about his net worth. There’s the pain of realising that once you reach a certain point of physical deterioration, nobody wants to hear about you for fear of being reminded of their own mortality – least of all a comedy audience. And then there’s the simple fact of the hand he’s been dealt by the universe, which features so many rare diseases and injuries it’d be funny if only it weren’t true. What’s amazing about his story is that it’s not amazing at all – unlikely, yes, but nothing that makes him special. What does make him so is his ability to turn inconceivable personal tragedy into a brilliant, compelling hour of storytelling that may have you thinking about life in bright new ways.

To repeat: see this show.