This Is Normal – Old Red Lion Theatre, Angel

Reviewer: Christine Stanton

Writer: Stuart Warwick

“Hospitals, Horniness & Homophobia”

4 / 5

While everyone was on their doorsteps clapping for the NHS – hospital staff were working tirelessly; long-hours with little reprieve. As Covid cases started slowing down and restrictions began lifting – everyone had to start re-establishing the parameters of their lives, move on from the last couple of crazy years that nobody was expecting and pick everything back up as if nothing had ever happened.

The blurb of Stuart Warwick’s one-man show is only a few lines, a vague description of a hospital porter returning to work after the pandemic and trying to establish his own version of ‘the new normal’. Although this plot is interesting enough in itself, it doesn’t tell potential audiences that within this hour-long show, so much more is explored via the personable, likeable lead. Warwick doesn’t just talk about bed pans and lateral flow tests – a huge part of the show is his love life, or lack of it since Covid. He spends his time swiping through Grindr trying to filter out the timewasters, daydreaming about Russel Tovey and lusting after the hot surgeon he bumped into in the lift.

What is unexpected, is how gloriously xrated the entire show is – Warwick doesn’t hold back on detail, so if you’re easily flustered, you might wanna stay at home and watch Grey’s Anatomy for your medical drama fix instead. There is a ridiculously funny scene involving a letterbox and a shockingly graphic moment in the ICU as he gets distracted at work during one of his sexual fantasies. The bold, no holds barred approach really works in adding to the personable nature of the script, his daydream style tangents making it feel as though his character is talking to the audience as friends rather than making it a structured and serious monologue.

But aside from the chatty anecdotes about his life outside of the hospital, and excerpts stating his daily duties at his job, there’s also an addition of vulnerability woven through into various scenes, about how homophobia has affected his life. It begins with an almost off-the-cuff comment about how his father would have got rid of him if he had known he’d turn out gay, but then slowly becomes mentioned in other aspects of the storyline – one of which being a really touching conversation with the daughter of a dementia patient after her father accidentally accesses Grindr on his phone instead of the dog photos he was supposed to be showing him. This extra layer of poignancy helps to level out the storyline and give it a sense of purpose.

The simplistic honesty, light-hearted humour and warm relatability from Warwick’s script and performance all work well alongside each other. It is paced perfectly, with the right balance of tone and an easy-to-follow narrative, within the immediately identifiable hospital backdrop created with a few simplistic props. This is a truly likeable, enjoyable, engaging show from a natural writer / performer that keeps you interested from beginning to end.

Runs Until 23 September 2023