Jess Thom, aka Touretteshero, is exactly that. A hero, chiefly for the way she handles her debilitating condition, which causes her to involuntarily swear, shout and spasm.
But she realised years ago that there was entertainment and something to celebrate in it. And it's certainly hilarious - we were advised at the start it was “OK to laugh.” Her two-woman show sucked the audience into her world – one constructed from things Tourette's has made her say.
From a stage festooned with inflatable dinosaurs, anvils, oak trees and the EastEnders cast, from a wheelchair she admitted to “loving,” Thom was a ball of surreal energy throughout, continually bringing to mind comedians like Vic and Bob with her unpredictable, subconscious outbursts.
There were serious sides, but even these were funny. A demonstration of how difficult it is for Thom to eat, using only a bowl of strawberries that soon coated the front row, was a case in point.
But this wasn’t a preachy or instructive evening. It was physical theatre shot through with personality and abandon.
That everyone learned something was just the icing on a wondrously messy cake.
Five stars
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