Adam Kay - Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas Live

Adam Kay brings Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas Live to the Concert Hall, Newcastle City Hall on Monday 14 December. It's a festive show from the British writer and comedian, and if you've read his books, you'll know exactly where he's coming from.

Kay started as a junior doctor in the UK's National Health Service, and his memoir This Is Going To Hurt — based on diaries from those years — became a massive hit, topping the Sunday Times bestseller list for over a year. It was later adapted into a BBC and AMC television drama that he wrote himself. This live show draws on that book and his follow-up, Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas, combining hospital-ward stories with stand-up, original festive songs and a tribute to the healthcare workers who work through Christmas. It's the same sort of thing that made the books work: the absurdity and the grind of working on a ward, told by someone who was actually there.

Beyond the books, Kay is one of Britain's most successful television writers, with a BAFTA to his name, and his stage shows have played to over 350,000 people. His Undoctored run was the bestselling show at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe. He's also a patron of several healthcare and mental health charities, so the tribute to the staff working through the holidays isn't just a bit of stage business — it's something he's stayed connected to.

It's a Monday night in mid-December, so it's a good one to pencil in before the Christmas break properly kicks in. The show is Twas The Nightshift Before Christmas Live at the Concert Hall, Newcastle City Hall on 14 December.