DIAGNOSE THIS! TALES OF A MEDICAL ACTOR

Donna Kay Yarborough turns from comedian to crusader in Diagnose This!

Diagnose This! feels like two shows. I prefer the second.

In the first, writer and performer Donna Kay Yarborough regales us with stories based on her experience as a standardized medical patient (an actor who pretends to be a patient to help train healthcare students).

Yarborough is an engaging performer, which is a good thing because her material is only so-so. When a neurology student is testing her skin sensation and explains that she “going to feel a little prick”, I don’t find the double entendre hilarious.

But, late in the show, Yarborough gets into her own harrowing experience of the US medical system. This turns into a passionate and compelling rallying cry in defence of socialized medicine. Yes to that.

At the False Creek Gym on September 7 (1:00 p.m.), 8 (9:15 p.m.), 9 (8:45 p.m.), 12 (6:45 p.m.), 14 (5:35 p.m.), and 15 (2:45 p.m.) Tickets

This review is based on a performance at the Victoria Fringe.