When you enter Caravanserai it feels like you’ve wandered onto the set of a festival-type film or TV set, complete with a working fire pit and hidden corners everywhere you look. Standing proudly at the top of the site is the Junk Poets tent – a cosy circular space with bench-style seating that feels perfectly suited to Fringe fun and our introduction to Sister Brandy Bex.
Sister Brandy Bex is a glamorous six-foot-(and-then-some) naughty nurse in glittery pink heels and a towering blonde beehive. Through song, spoken word and even a little bit of rap, she takes us through the highs, lows and downright ridiculous moments of life on the wards.
This was the first performance in her Junk Poets run and, remarkably, her first ever one-woman show, though you’d never have guessed it. She regaled us with tales of working in the NHS, from caring for patients to dealing with randy doctors, finding plenty of humour in a job that can be rewarding, difficult and dirty (in more ways than one). You’ll never hear a certain Ed Sheeran song in quite the same way again.
There were a few sound issues at times and poor Brandy also had to contend with noise drifting over from the brilliant Carnival Collective band playing elsewhere on site. Somehow though, she handled it all like a total pro and never once let the energy dip.
At the end of the show we discovered Sister Brandy Bex is actually a real-life nurse, which gives the whole performance an added layer of heart and means her very funny tales of working life in the NHS could (we say could, don’t sue us or her) be taken as gospel. Her stories clearly come from a very real place, with humour, warmth and sheer likability carrying the show throughout.
We left the show smiling, feeling noticeably lighter and slightly jealous of anyone lucky enough to have Sister Brandy Bex looking after them on a hospital ward. Our very own Lily Savage NHS hero.
By Kemi Ayoola
You can see Progress in Work on 14th, 27th, 29th and 30th May (from £12). Sister Brandy Bex is also hosting Pick of the Fringe on 17th May, A Drop of Brandy with Friends on 17th and 24th May, and charity fundraiser Extravaganza 7 – The Last Laugh on 31st May. This is one busy nurse!
