Finally, a Television Show About the Damage Wrought by Austerity
The BBC’s new medical drama This Is Going to Hurt is set amid the chaos of an austerity-starved National Health Service. It comes at just the right time, as the pandemic forces the UK to take stock of the damage austerity has done to the NHS.
Ben Whishaw plays a fictionalized version of former NHS doctor Adam Kay in This Is Going to Hurt. (BBC)
Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the UK public watched as the National Health Service (NHS) under Tory leadership was pushed to its breaking point.
The BBC’s adaptation of ex-NHS doctor Adam Kay’s 2017 memoir, This Is Going to Hurt, comes at precisely the right time, as the nation now grapples with the emaciation of the health system that was once prized as the best of Britain. The tragicomedy is garnering praise for its many outstanding qualities, including a stellar performance from Ben Whishaw and writing that’ll leave you in stitches (pardon the pun). It’s also refreshingly honest about the pitfalls of an austerity-starved NHS.
The show’s protagonist Adam is a brilliant doctor who’s underpaid and overworked. He’s also rude and short-tempered in a charming, distinctly British sort of way. Breaking the fourth wall in Fleabag fashion, Adam’s casual asides and glances at the audience — handled with remarkable fluidity by Whishaw — heighten the theatricality of the show as it transports the viewer into the world of hellishly ill-organized maternity wards. (Warning: spoilers ahead.)
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