Toby Peach Eulogises Cancer, and it’s a Gag a Minute

“I’ve spent 4,000 minutes kissing which is surprisingly not very much, it took me 5,475 days to make it to that kiss, I was rejected nine times by the same girl at school. I’ve got 3 A-levels in Theatre studies, IT and Mass statistics.”

So we’re introduced to Toby Peach and his one-man theatre piece, recounting his journey through having Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a form of cancer he was diagnosed with aged 19 and again at 21.

Cancer isn’t a usual source of laughs yet the eponymously titled Eulogy of Toby Peach provoked many giggles from the audience as well as some downright hearty guffaws. The numerically charged gags are delivered in rapid succession; self-effacing love stories redolent of classic Woody Allen and masturbation scenes that make you blush.

The story is also poignant, tender and entertaining. Halfway through for example, we learn Peach was a male model and stripping down to his waist, the audience is treated to a series of hilarious poses: the glancing-over-the-shoulder look and the hair-drying pose at which point Peach notices what his head will look like after hair loss from chemotherapy and there is a thoughtful silence before the next joke.

The set design meanwhile, is deceptively simple and clever: hospital style strip lights which double up as the neon in a cocktail bar, and video-graphic projections which include a comedic set list of the top 10 songs played at funerals. The piece is also worthy - not in a particularly wholesome or clean manner, but in the insightful and brave way that Peach recounts his diagnosis, remission, relapse and treatment. Recommended if you have questions or fears about cancer, especially so for younger people.

Joseph Lichey 4/5