“Rate your pain from 1 to 10.” It appears such a simple question, yet contained within it is years of a life half-lived, due to chronic pain. This one-woman show is an outpouring of the grief and frustration that comes with an unknown condition, which all comes to a head in one moment in a doctor’s office.

The script is based on US medical care, and UK audiences will spot notable differences – having to pay, having to undress and be weighed so often – yet the blue chair is the same, and the accursed 10-point scale is painfully familiar to people on both sides of the pond. People who suffer chronic conditions will see much of their own experience, while others can begin to get some feeling of what that is like.

Olivia Ormond brings an intense energy to the piece.  The show is raw and angry, and anyone who has experienced this personally or in someone close to them will feel deeply seen.  Those who have not lived it may try to dismiss it, as indeed her doctors do, but the relentless openness and vulnerability paint a heartfelt picture.

Of course nothing occurs in a vacuum, and as the show proceeds we get glimpses into  Ormond’s past. Darker events are alluded to with frequent muttering of “But we don’t talk about that”. I’m in two minds about this approach: it allows the events to be acknowledged without turning them into ghoulish curiosities, but dismissing them so abruptly denies the audience the chance to grasp the gestalt.

Such a long and angry monologue runs a risk of coming off as simply a rant, but this piece avoids such traps.  Its pacing mixes in quiet sadness, resignation and rebellion with the frustration and anger – the whole range of human emotions contrasted with a system that would deny even the patients’ own reported experiences.  The moment a doctor has the gall to cross out an answer they disagree with is particularly potent.

Though medicine is slowly changing, it has a long way to come. The very process of becoming a doctor, fighting through long shifts and massive workloads, does not allow for people with these lived experiences to qualify. Some people are keenly aware of this and this piece with resonate deeply with them, while for others it will serve as a visceral and raw snapshot into the pained lives of sufferers. Its energy and vulnerability make it a potent and moving show.