Review of the comedian's show about a medical ordeal

Today’s stand-up scene can very loosely be divided those comics who put gags front and centre, normally born from the club circuit, and those who lead with narrative then sprinkle funny on top, as learned on the festival scene

Scott Bennett would normally be classed as a fine exponent of the first type, but here makes a foray into the storytelling show, with an experience that has been so significant in his life, that he just has to share. 

In 2010, when he and his wife Jemma’s first child, Olivia, was just three months old, she was admitted to hospital with worryingly low blood sugar levels that made her body go limp and lifeless. So began five months of the family cocooned in hospital, for much of it not sure what was wrong as their baby’s life hung in the balance.

Bennett professes not to be the sort of stand-up who’d instinctively use personal trauma to fuel his comedy – but changed his mind with the prospect of a book deal, he says, only half in jest. ‘There’s money in misery.’

Not too much, mind. The Yorkshire-born comic is rightly quick to reassure us all worked out in the end, taking away any worrying uncertainty with gags about Olivia now she’s a typically lazy teenager with an untidy room collecting the family’s crockery supplie..

Indeed, for the first half or more of these 75 minutes, the health scare lies beneath much more universal comedy. Considering he has a such as strong central story, Bennett is prone to digression, starting with some working-class north vs privileged south stereotyping to break the ice, then covering arguments over picnic tables, what all babies look like and his ever-practical father-in law.

Sometimes this ties in to the narrative at hand. His self-deprecatory material about being a beta male who can’t confront a builder certainly resonates when he needs to speak up for his daughter and not be intimidated by medical experts’ air of infallibility. 

But at other times it feels like he shies away from the story, preferring to make a gag than confront reality. It means we don’t quite get to fully empathise with just how serious Olivia’s illness was. The main joke  is that the treatment made her incredibly hairy. Comically, it’s the gift that keeps giving, while just how little an exaggeration this is becomes apparent in the slide show that concludes the hour, including the picture at the top of this page.. 

With Bennett remaining gag-forward rather than seeking pathos, it’s only much later in the show that the full impact of Olivia’s illness hits home, when the cash-strapped NHS charters a private jet so the very sick baby can have a vital scan. 

Given everyone here knew what the story was when they bought tickets, Bennett could probably trust himself to be  more frank early on and raise the emotional stakes, safe in the knowledge he’s always got enough gag-driven material to raise the mood. The man – underrated compared to many of his contemporaries – is a consummate pro with relatable material that will fly with any crowd.

It was only the chance intervention of a passing specialist that led to Olivia’s diagnosis with congenital hyperinsulinism, or CHI, a rare genetic condition. In a proportion of cases this can be cured with an relatively simple operation, which is why Bennett now gets to appreciate his daughter in all her teenage slovenliness. 

Unsurprisingly, there are strong observational routines about hospitals here, such as his amusing depiction of the walking wounded in the on-site Costa. Staying a respite hotel run by the Ronald McDonald charity was even more weird.

If Bennett is writing a book about this troubling time, it should make a cracking read, especially when he is free of the compulsion to crack a joke every minute because of the unwarranted fear he’ll lose the audience. Some chance with a narrative as compelling as this and from such a personable and witty guide through the troubling times.

• Scott Bennett is on tour with Blood Sugar Baby until July. Dates

Review date: 11 May 2025
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett