My ‘Wake Up’ show is now on YouTube

Back in September, a few days before I started a seven week course of radiotherapy for prostate cancer, I premiered my one man show ‘Wake Up: Ten stories on being alive.’ The idea to do a one man show came to me when I was lying on my hospital bed awaiting surgery in December 2023 and there was much uncertainty about the future. I felt an urgency to capture and share the stories of what I was going through.

In the show, I shared what I've learned since my cancer diagnosis and correlated my current experience with stories from throughout my life. I spoke about what I'd noticed having heightened clarity about the world around me; I told a story about stumbling across Rufus Wainwright in Soho; and shared a memory of a recent walk in Hackney which had really lifted me and made me feel alive. Hopefully there are lessons here for everybody - perhaps it can serve as a wake-up call for how we spend our time and where we put our attention?

I'm pleased to say that the film of the show is now up on YouTube.

The show was performed at the Dixon Studio in Southend’s Palace Theatre.

Produced, directed and edited by Charles Sharman Cox

Introduced by Stephen Fry

A big thank you to Nick Parr and all the team at Trafalgar Theatres for their support.

Cameras: Struan Wallace and Sophie Tuckwell; Sound recordist: Matt Flack; Live sound: Michael Rowley; Colourist: Liz Samson.

Finally, a huge thank you to my wife and creative partner Zoë who helped me craft the stories for the show - I couldn't have done this project with you!