DJ-ing throughout, Paul makes a party out of his own experience of living with the condition since the age of two whilst mixing in recorded conversations with his father and cousin, both Type 1 diabetics, as well as his mother and his sister. Dia-Beat-Es is an honest account of how 400,000 UK Type 1 diabetics battle to keep their bodies pumpin’, without the possibility of ever pressing pause.
With Dia-Beat-es Paul cross-fades between motivating his crowd and managing his insulin levels in this mega-mix of sweet, sweet music dedicated to the carb counting druggies (*insulin) like him. Through the show Paul talks about diabetes burnout, where after years of living with the 24/7 responsibility, many burn out and neglect their condition. With a mere 18% of the UK’s Type 1 diabetics meeting their doctor’s three aims for improvement now is the time to start asking why, and what can be done to tackle burnout.
Paul O’Donnell says: “In 2017 I attended a carbohydrate counting course alongside eight other Type 1 diabetics, two of whom had just been diagnosed, another had been a diabetic for over 60 years. All eight of them were struggling in their own way with trying to control the condition. In part it reassured me that I was not ‘a terrible diabetic’ as I thought I was before, it also let me know that I was not alone in my own struggle. I hope that Dia-Beat-Es does the same for others Type 1s, and their families.”
Dia-Beat-Es is a standing show , running for 60 minutes followed by a 30-minute DJ set.
Paul is an Associate Artist at Birmingham REP and Theatre Absolute who aims to expose the ‘ordinary’ in a ‘spectacular’ fashion. He played a crucial role in Coventry’s year as City of Culture, both as an artist, with his most ambitious performance to date set to take place in Coventry Cathedral in February 2022, and as a producer, creating opportunities for up-and-coming artists in the city through his role at Shoot Festival. He has also conceived and led on the inaugural Museum of Me as part of Birmingham 2022 Festival.
His widely acclaimed touring show We’ve Got Each Other, the almost entirely imagined Bon Jovi musical, is coming up to 100 performances following a hit run at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2018. It has toured across the UK, Spain, America and made it to Canada in March 2020, just before lockdown. In 2018, the show won BE Festival’s Audience Prize as well as Audience Prize and Best Performer Prize at FITT Festival Tarragona, Spain.
SATURDAY 25 FEBRUARY
8pm (SHERLING STUDIO)
Age guidance: 12+
Tickets and information 01202 280000
