“I’m in pain all the time.  I wrote this show full of jokes about living in pain because that is how I deal with being in pain… I cope with it by laughing at it.  I’m giving you permission to laugh about it as well!”

Written and performed by Kyle Ayers, Hard To Say: A Comedy Show About Life with Chronic Pain, now playing at New York City’s Soho Playhouse, tells the true story of the comedian’s L-O-N-G journey of coping with trigeminal neuralgia, AKA “TGN”.  Trigeminal neuralgia is a rare nerve disorder that cause frequent and sudden facial pain.  As Ayers shares, trigeminal neuralgia is sometimes bluntly, but unfortunately accurately, referred to as “the suicide disease”.  A one-man show about living with relentless pain may be a hard sell for many lovers of stand-up comedy– especially a show which doesn’t shy away from such issues as dying for ten eight seconds during surgery or having pain so badly that “un-aliving” oneself, as the under-24 crowd may say, seems like a preferable option.  But Ayers’ original, bold, and highly entertaining show succeeds in many ways.  Hard To Say is fascinating– albeit not always in a positive way– in its take-no-prisoners exploration of the American health care system.  It’s nakedly personal and provocative: The segment where Ayers speaks about his “bucket list” is achingly poignant– although, in the spirit of any gifted comedian, it has its “Gotcha!” moment that makes the audience have a rebound laugh after the sad faces.  But, of course, this is a COMEDY show…  so, most importantly, Ayers’ piece is VERY funny.  One of the earliest segments is a surreal stingray story (with pictures to prove it!)  that would keep people off the beach more than the fear of yet another lousy Jaws sequel. But after that scary fish story, it only gets crazier form there… right on down to a later segment dedicated to the seemingly well-meaning but ultimately looney “FAQ”‘s from Ayer’s social media… ahem, “fans” (AKA sluts, stalkers, and sycophants).  Now, THAT’S “scary”! — but more about that later…   

Ayers’ issues with pain started in 2017.  He described the “immense, intense” pain as “being stabbed and electrocuted at the same time on one side of the face”. Brutal, huh?  Of course, it may be antithetical that a show about chronic pain could even be considered a source of comedy. Logically, after all, there’s nothing instinctually laughable about dealing with a chronic disease: There’s one test after another, one misdiagnosis after another, one procedure after another, one amateurly know-it-all opinion after another, etc.– with, in Ayers’ case, nothing ever getting better. That was until the comedian underwent risky brain surgery at age 33. That SHOULD have been the end of the story, tying up Hard To Say with a tidy happy ending just at the moment when we are routing for Kyle most of all. But (without giving too much away), sadly, it wasn’t.  And, despite the disappointing true-life events which Ayers shared with the audience, Hard To Say actually only got FUNNIER (and, dare I say, even “life-affirming” and “inspiring”) from that moment on…. 

Hard To Say succeeds on many levels.  Kyle Ayers is a talented storyteller, who is able to keep his patently cool, occasionally self-deprecating demeanor even as he shares his most over-the-top anecdotes– and even when receiving from good-natured heckling from the audience. This performer doesn’t waste a single minute of running time.  His stories, by the way, are often quite personal– but, in parallel style, they also hold up a mirror to our own crazy society, particularly in the areas of the health care industry and our modern-day parasocial relationships. That’s where the aforementioned “FAQ'”s come in! (“Does it hurt being in pain?” was literally one of the questions asked by a “fan”…)  The comedy is also bolstered by Ayers’ many creative touches, including his liberal use of visual projections– many of which are laugh-out-loud hilarious. For this reviewer, any comedian who can tell a Sylvia Plath joke and make it utterly fabulous has a new lifelong slut, stalker, and sycophant fan.

Kyle Ayers’ Hard To Say: A Comedy Show About Life with Chronic Pain continues at Soho Playhouse, 15 Vandam Street, NYC, through Sunday, September 14.  Visit AudienceView Professional for tickets and more information. You’ll laugh till it hurts!