‘We all have one. What’s yours?’ DocDoc – Churchill Theatre, Bromley. 07.02.25

It’s always a pleasant surprise when an otherwise empty Friday night becomes an opportunity for a theatre review, thanks to The Churchill Theatre in Bromley and their run of DocDoc.

Morris Gilbert and Óskar Eiriksson present the UK premiere of Laurent Baffie’s DocDoc, directed by Ian Talbot and translated by Julian Quintanilla. Dubbed ‘the hilarious international smash hit comedy’ I was almost slightly nervous when I arrived this evening; could it live up to that accolade?

I wasn’t familiar with the plot line so I had to look it up before we arrived at the theatre. Taken from the programme:

Doctor Cooper, a renowned specialist in obsessive-compulsive disorders, is running late. Meanwhile, he has a waiting room filled with patients desperate to be treated. First up there’s Fred with a bad case of the Tourette’s, and behind him a growing queue of more and more challenging compulsions. Practice Assistant, Anna, attempts to keep on top of the mounting chaos whilst we await the good doctor’s arrival but, with the extended absence of Doctor Cooper, the group has no other option than to try their own version of group therapy, with screamingly funny consequences.

The entire play takes place in this waiting room, so the actors have to work hard to keep it engaging. Thankfully, this cast was more than up to the challenge.

Six patients, each with a different compulsion. There’s a very comic first meeting between Fred (played by Gareth Brierley), a retired man with Tourette’s, and Lee (Ryan Early) a black cab driver with Arithmomania (a compulsion for counting). A lot of the laugh-out-loud moments come from Fred’s outbursts and the other characters reactions to them.

One by one the other characters arrive, and the audience is taken on a journey of discovery with Lee and Fred to work out what each of their problems is which has brought them in search of Doctor Cooper. Blanche (Joanna Hudson-Fox) can’t stop washing her hands, Mary (Julia J Nagle) is panicking that she’s left the gas on (or maybe the water), Lili (Sophie Bloor) says very little at all at first, and Bob (Leon Stewart) can’t walk across the room to take a seat.

There are a lot of fantastic one-liners that are delivered as the characters engage with and get to know one another. Bob introduces himself by saying ‘My name is Bob – it’s symmetrical’. Mary keeps insisting she’s not there for herself but to seek advice for a friend, to which Lee responds ‘you and your friend must be the spitting image of each other’. The script is incredibly witty, and delivered expertly by this cast.

Act One is largely about introductions and ends with a very funny game of monopoly while the patients are waiting for Doctor Cooper. One of my favourite moments of the entire play comes when Lee, as the banker, says to Lili ‘That’s £300, but for you it’s £150’. The confusion is quickly cleared up when you remember what Lili’s compulsion is (which also explains the name of the show)! Act Two turns into a chaotic group therapy session when they get tired of waiting for the doctor and decide to give it a go themselves. But there’s plenty of laughs across both!

Ryan Early is arguably the star of the show, which is perhaps a no-brainer when Lee seems to be the main character in the group, but his combination of energy, wit and the occasional bit of sarcasm kept my attention throughout.

However, with such a small cast of just seven, everyone (with perhaps the exception of Isabella Leung as Doctor Cooper’s assistant Anna, just because we didn’t see enough of her) really had a chance to shine. For me, the real talent here is the mannerisms each actor has had to perfect to bring their character’s compulsion to life, for example Fred’s sudden outbursts and the leud gestures that accompany them, or Bob’s cushion shuffle across the floor.

There’s real chemistry between these actors which makes what unfolds a joy to watch. Despite the ‘smash hit comedy’ advertising, I think I was a bit dubious walking in and expected to be disappointed, but it was a highly enjoyable evening out and I laughed throughout. I can only commend the cast on their flawless delivery.

It’s worth noting that this play comes with a warning label: Contains swearing, bad language and adult themes. Advised for audiences aged 14+. I can attest to the fact that it’s not one to take the kids to, or for those with delicate sensibilities!

As a side note, it’s really nice to see in the programme that DocDoc have partnered with mental health charity No Panic, which supports people with anxiety problems including panic attacks, phobias and OCD.

Finally, there’s a really great twist at the end which I probably should’ve seen coming, but I was so caught up in whether any of the patients would overcome their disorder that I completely missed it! I won’t spoil it by sharing it here, you’ll have to go and see it yourself to find out…

DocDoc is playing at The Churchill until Saturday 15 February, which means you still have a week to get over there to see it. Tickets can be purchased here.