Saint Pancreas

The show is based on my experiences as a parent of two diabetic children, and includes material that would normally be considered too difficult and traumatic for comedy. Whilst devising and rehearsing, the effect of working with such material on the creative process was explored. In performance, the effect of the material on the audience's responses and how the performer connected with this was a particular focus. Throughout the project, contextual research was carried out into other comedians who have dealt with traumatic subjects (including interviews with key performers e.g. Mark Thomas, Andre Vincent), as well as relevant theories of comedy and theatre (e.g. Freud, Bergson, Stanislavski). The project has been documented on DVD, reflecting and thus interrogating professional industry practice: commercial DVDs are the predominant means for documenting stand-up, and often include performance analysis in the extras. The DVD includes a complete film of the show and multiple reflections on the project.