OUTPATIENT
Park Theatre
★★★★
“achieves something incredibly rare by being so frank about something so taboo”
“It’s weird that we don’t talk about it,” Olive tells us. She is referring to death and society’s taboo towards it. Olive is writing an article about this very subject and is looking for volunteers who are terminally ill to speak about their experiences. Without reservation, she does not consider this unusual and starts handing out her business card to patients gathered in a palliative care ward. However, this ambition takes a completely different spotlight when she, herself, is diagnosed with the rare illness primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC). What unfolds is that Olive cannot deal with the prospect of her own death at all, as she embarks on a self-destructive path, which could ruin her life before its potential premature end.
Outpatient is an astonishing one-hander conceived, written, and performed by Harriet Madeley (Olive Johnson in the play), centred on her own experience of being diagnosed with a potentially life-limiting condition. It is a remarkable performance, which provides so much deep insight into such a serious, brutal subject matter, whilst being uplifting and funny. Irony is regularly deployed throughout the piece, a particularly good example of which is Olive, her fiancé and mother going to the cinema to watch a Norwegian film about suicide, just after receiving the news. It is not morbid and solemn about the inevitability of what awaits but rather insists that we enjoy the time before then.
Whilst only having a single performer, the play features numerous characters via pre-recorded material. These stretch to Olive’s parents, her fiancé, wider family, and doctors that she meets, and provide necessary grounding to her situation within her inner circle. This element of the play works well for the most part but is, at times, over-used because we want to hear more of Olive’s internal dialogue.
We learn of the different reactions to the news from different people. There are those that try too hard to be nice but end up overbearing. There are those that think that they can fix things themselves and then there are those that just pity. Clearly, nobody knows exactly the right way to respond. Of most interest, is Olive’s own response. While everyone else is trying to confront the problem, Olive is trying to run from it, in the hope that she can run faster than it. It is quite befitting that so much of the story is narrated by Olive whilst running on a treadmill. The direction (Madelaine Moore) is pin-point, and it needs to be, given the minimalism of the set design, which helps to project the performance rather than hold it back. The lighting (Megan Lucas) is also a prominent feature of the show, the projection of an x-ray reminding us of the authentic meaning of the show despite the comedic light relief.
Through telling this story (an adaptation of Harriet’s own story), Harriet appears to want to tell us two things. Firstly, that even in light of terrible news, one’s actions can have a damaging impact on those closest to them. Moreover, though, is that even if one thinks they have nothing to lose, this is never truly the case, that there is always something worth protecting and working towards. Outpatient achieves something incredibly rare by being so frank about something so taboo, whilst somehow raising your spirits.
OUTPATIENT
Park Theatre
Reviewed on 22nd May 2025
by Luke Goscomb
Photography by Abi Mowbray
Last ten shows reviewed at this venue:
CONVERSATIONS AFTER SEX | ★★★ | May 2025
FAREWELL MR HAFFMANN | ★★★★ | March 2025
ONE DAY WHEN WE WERE YOUNG | ★★★ | March 2025
ANTIGONE | ★★★★★ | February 2025
CYRANO | ★★★ | December 2024
BETTE & JOAN | ★★★★ | December 2024
GOING FOR GOLD | ★★★★ | November 2024
THE FORSYTE SAGA | ★★★★★ | October 2024
AUTUMN | ★★½ | October 2024
23.5 HOURS | ★★★ | September 2024
