Reviewed by Tracey Paleo, Gia On The Move

Kate Huffman has had two solid decades of living with an OCD-instilled eating disorder that requires her to live by a strict set of rules and rituals rooted in numbers and eternal body hatred.

While, she most definitely cannot overlook her obsessions with touching everything equally, for instance, an embedded neuroticism over counting calories and compulsive body-destroying workouts, and daily negative self-talk guided by her inner protector stricter than an Army drill sergeant, charting a course to perfection, it’s also killing her dating life. And she’s so tired of being alone!

How does she ultimately deal with it? Science of course. But, all the mathematical, socio-psychological explanations just don’t seem to be helping. Nothing is ever really enough, to explain it to herself. Even while thoroughly explaining it to us. Try as she may the only thing to do is take life one hour at a time.

Ruthlessly honest, in I’m Too Fat For This Show, Huffman exposes literally her innermost core with biting and intelligent humour, until it becomes surreal to experience during this genuinely courageous, onstage exposé. It’s relentless and frustrating in that some of us who are hearing her, want to jump up from our seats, grab this situation by the arm and muster Special Forces to help her.

The show runs 70 minutes. But truly Huffman gets her point across by 45. Some of the cut-away scenes are so completely brilliant in the writing and performing, but don’t actually need to be there to emphasise the point. They almost feel like extra plays in between.

Overall, Huffman’s honesty is shocking as much as it is fascinating. This is a person’s actual life. But there is a childlike quality about her hopes and dreams that makes her so endearing, and the whole live confession palatable enough to empathetically and compassionately, sit with.

Highly Recommended

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