One of my great pleasures in life is watching British Comedy. As people who will know me will attest to I am a huge fan of the modern day British comedy scene – I am a tragic for shows like 8 Of 10 Cats Does Countdown and Mock Of The Week but what a lot of people don’t realise is that I am also a huge fan of old school British comedy. Even today while my friends pull out shows like Friends or Big Bang Theory I am more at home sitting down to watch Keeping Up Appearances, Birds Of A Feather or Hale & Pace.
It is because of that love of British Comedy that I think I enjoyed the new show Don’t Trust Me I’m A Dentist so much when I got to see it last night at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. Put together by talented performers Amir Rahimzadeh, known for his work both here and in the UK, and Sharon Heywood, who is known for both her screen and stage work, Don’t Trust Me I’m A Dentist is pure old school British comedy with a modern twist.
Directed by Australian screen legend Roz Hammond (Muriel’s Wedding) Don’t Trust Me I’m A Dentist mixes comedy with tragedy in a way that only the British seem to be able to pull out successfully. The show centres around two main characters Dr Ronnie Ramirez (Rahimzadeh) and his dental nurse Yvette (Heywood). The show chronicles their journey from Ramirez being a fresh-faced young dentist excited to have his own practice into a career that soon shows him the downside of choosing dentistry as a profession.
The story comes together brilliantly well enhanced by both Rahimzadeh and Heywood playing other side characters when they need to – and in fact it is often these other characters that steal the show. It is going to take me a long time to forget about characters that included an old lady flasher, a nymphomaniac chocoholic and an old man who got a little ‘too excited’ while in the dentist chair.
The power of this show though lays in the fact that it can mix comedic moments with that of a tragic story, yes in a sense this show has aspects of Shakespeare all over it. The strength of the writing grouped together by two strong acting performances and a good use of modern technology results in a show that really does bring up some very important topics. It was in the moments after watching this show that I realised that dentistry must be one of the hardest professions going around… imagine turning up to a job everyday where the general consensus in the community is that the person themselves should be feared and is largely hated (if I am completely honest).
Don’t Trust Me I’m A Dentist is an amazing piece of theatre that reveals the brilliance of Amir Rahimzadeh and Sharon Heywood while telling a story that both entertains and makes you think. This is a show that will be enjoyed by theatre lovers and comedy fans alike.
To purchase tickets for the show please go to – https://www.comedyfestival.com.au/2021/shows/don-t-trust-me-i-m-a-dentist
