Garret Millerick: Sunflower Comes to Soho Theatre

Garret Millerick isn't usually a contrary man.

But sometimes life is contrary all on its own.

Last year, Garrett made a call to arms for Edinburgh shows not to be judged by whether or not they have a theme. That's kind of been his long term shtick. And he had marketed this new show in particular, as one free from lecturers, free from politics, entirely non didactic and with absolutely, positively, no sad stories.

But sometimes you don't need to go looking for a sad story to twist and shape into an hour long show. Sometimes the sad story finds you. And it sinks it's teeth into your life and it seeps into every bit of your world, until you find yourself, two months from the start of the 2018 Edinburgh festival, at the beginning of previewing and finessing your jokes for people who like laughing show, when you realise that show isn't going to get finished, because you're entirely at the mercy of a story that's consumed you.

Because when you plunge from excited father-to-be, to grieving the loss of that future, and then to having no more time to grieve because now you're watching in terror as your wife loses half the blood in her body on a hospital bed... it's hard to think about anything else.

Says Garrett: At the darkest point, Sarah had collapsed on me, her eyes rolled back in her head; she began to swallow her tongue and the blood drained from her face. I looked up and down the empty hospital ward and screamed for someone to help me. An age seems to elapse before a doctor, who happened to be passing, saw what was happening and raised the alarm. More came to her aid. Slowly they revived her. She summoned all the strength she had left and looked into my eyes and said ... You can do one of those dreadful 'everyone feel sorry for me Edinburgh Shows' now... But don't do that, they're f-ing awful .

So welcome to Garrett Millerick's u-turn show. A show that got phenomenal reviews in Edinburgh.

It's a work of two halves. Half of the show as was written; half the show as a reaction to some pretty brutal circumstance. Because he had a hell of a couple of months and a couple of months of hell.

*NOTE: This show still has a lot of jokes.

**NOTE: The show was named Sunflower after Garrett's favourite Beach Boys album. It's still called Sunflower. Kind of seems more apt a name now anyway.

+DISCLAIMER: Sarah Millerick is happy for Garret to tell his story. She wants him to, it was her idea. And he wouldn't dream of doing this if it hadn't been.

Garrett is an increasing force to be reckoned with on the UK Circuit. In less than five years he has gone from new act finals to closing some of the best comedy clubs in the world, as well as regularly performing at high profile alternative gigs and festivals; a versatility that most comics cannot lay claim to.

Mach Comedy Fest to Butlins, working men's clubs to the 'End of The Road Festival', Pleasance to the United Nations peacekeeping troops. Garrett plays to hipsters and soldiers alike, and he goes down equally well with students and old people. Earlier this year he became one of the new generation of comics to be making weekend appearances at the world famous Comedy Store in London's Leicester Square. He's never publicly stated any political affiliation or chastised anyone for theirs. He does stand up comedy aimed at anyone who likes laughing.

With some exciting screen and radio projects in the pipeline, Garrett is also a talented and successful writer and director. His debut sitcom Do Gooders, a comedy about mid-level charity workers, has been produced by Hat Trick Productions. The pilot, starring Jack Dee and Meera Syal is due for release through Amazon's Audible.

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