Terence Hartnett: 1 Lung Run Review by Mariah Girouard
American comedian Terence Hartnett begins his hour by saying that there are three reasons why people find themselves at this show. One: They’re a cancer survivor. Terence we will learn, has survived cancer not once, but twice. Two: They’re Austrian. Formerly based in New York, Terence moved to Austria to start a new life with his girlfriend after surviving cancer. Three: They’re runners. This hour is all about Terence’s desire to run a marathon, even though his doctors told him it would be physically impossible. As the audience cheered for which category they fell into, I realized that I was one of the few people there with no connection to this story. If you’re like me, you might hesitate to watch 1 Lung Run for fear of not connecting with it, but by the end, you’ll be glad you came. We’re all more connected than we might think.
Some shows have a message, and some shows are funny. This show has both. 1 Lung Run is a hilarious hour of stand-up comedy with a whole lot of heart. Terence wows the audience with his incredible story of survival and his dream of running a marathon with one lung. He starts strong with a bit of crowd work, finding a fellow uni-testicled-clad gentleman in the back row. Or as Terence likes to say “person of ball”. He immediately gets the audience on his side when he addresses the elephant in the room: he looks like a privileged prick. And he was. Before his cancer diagnosis, Terence was your average, good-looking white guy. Using a healthy dose of self-deprecation he illustrates his life before and after cancer, even going so far as to show us his scars. Don’t worry, not the ones on his (singular) testicle.
Stories like this can easily turn sad but Terence is a masterful wordsmith, adept at writing witty jokes that bring everyone together and keep the momentum moving. The quality of his joke writing coupled with his physicality and crowd interaction make Terence a comedic force to be reckoned with. If you’re looking for inspiring, funny, feel-good comedy, this is the one show you can’t miss. One thing’s for sure: after this show, you’ll never see lungs (or testicles) in the same way again.
Terence Hartnett: 1 Lung Run runs through Aug. 25 at Just the Tonic Legends at 20:35.
