Review: The Doctor Will See You Now, Lion & Unicorn Theatre

A hospital waiting room. An odd mix of waiting patients slowly losing their patience. A nurse almost at the end of her 72-hour shift. It’s a recipe for either high-tension drama or complete chaotic slapstick. Writer Zoe Chapman has opted very much for the latter.

So, the collection of people in the waiting room first. We have the pregnant lesbian couple, the mum and trans son, and a man who speaks very little English. There’s no doubting the diversity, fulfilling the brief to demonstrate how minorities are let down by a failing NHS system. Each individual brings with them moments of hilarity, some subtle and some not quite so. It’s the former that best demonstrates Chapman’s writing ability; her end-of-her-tether nurse’s little moments are superbly played out, especially an early phone call where we hear her firm belief that “it’s definitely not a third testicle”.  When the show slips into slapstick and farce, however, it loses its way and starts to feel more like a student production than a professional one. 

Chen’s direction equally shines best when it is restrained. There is clever shifting between conversations, taking us from one scene to the next, while plenty of thought has gone into what the rest of the cast do while they are not central to the scene. Again, it all proves that you do not need to shout and scream and rush around to get maximum results. Because when things do crank up, and there is lots of shouting and screaming and running around, it all starts to go wrong. Yes, there are still moments of laughter, but I suspect an audience not filled with friends and family might not be so generous. It finally completely jumps the shark when a new character appears dressed in a tight, bright yellow skin suit. The question is, why? It leads to a desperately hungry patient finally snapping and chasing her around, screaming “banana”. For about two seconds it is funny, in a “WTF” sort of way, and then it just becomes rather tedious. There is a lack of control and no nuance to it. 

Besides the lack of control in scenes, the whole just feels, well, not like a whole. It’s a collection of diverse characters and scattergun scenes all thrown together without purpose. It’s saved by individual moments where something genuinely funny is said or done, but there’s a dwindling return on these as the show progresses. There feels no purpose to it all, no real beginning, middle, or end; just a collection of ideas dropped together. 

There’s no doubt that The Doctor Will See You Now showcases some promising performers, along with glimpses of strong writing scattered throughout, but it ultimately ends up feeling like it belongs at a student end-of-year review or a late-night performance after we’ve all had a few drinks.

Written by Zoe Chapman
Directed by Erin Chen

The Doctor Will See You Now plays at Lion & Unicorn Theatre until Saturday 15 August as part of the Camden Fringe.