Operation Ouch! Live on Stage

Learning about biology has never been as fun as Dr Xand and Dr Chris make it for audiences attending Operation Ouch! Live on Stage. The dynamic duo is here all the way from the UK to tour Australia, teaching enthusiastic fans of their popular TV show all about the human body. Their energetic and engaging style is packed full of the kind of gross-out humour kids just love, while also serving to teach, demystify and encourage.

Those familiar with the longstanding TV show, now about to enter its ninth season of filming, will be thrilled to see some of the goriest moments replayed on the big screen. The doctors are wonderfully entertaining and funny in both the scripted and adlibbed moments in the live parts of the show. There are plenty of jokes and scientific insights for all ages. The audience is encouraged right from the get-go to yell out, join in and enjoy interacting with the doctors.

Dr Chris and Dr Xand van Tulleken trained at Oxford University and their passion for biology is palpable. They’re charming teachers, finding entertaining and exciting ways to explore science and explain sometimes quite tricky concepts. Audience interaction with giant inflatables is used to explain how an antivirus works. Dr Xand uses a small camera to literally show the audience the inside of his upper respiratory system. They even employ a long-running joke about mixing up beakers – one with faeces and one with stew inside – to teach about lab safety.

The show’s themes are very positive and uplifting. They teach the children in the crowd self-confidence, fight or flight and how to help calm yourself when feeling it and that even if you don’t get great grades, you should never give up trying. They also seek to desensitise people to ‘disgusting’ medical sights so they may be better prepared in case of emergency, or when needing to care for an unwell loved-one. Amid all the gory sights and bodily function jokes, it feels extremely altruistic and wholesome.

The question and answer session at the end sees more hands up than there is time to give answers, but the doctors do their best to get through as many as they can. It’s obvious that the young attendees adore their medical heroes and the chance to discover more about how the body functions. This is a fascinating piece of didactic entertainment that holds wide appeal for young and old.

Kiesten McCauley

Photos by Prudence Upton

NATIONAL TOUR DETAILS

BRISBANE, Concert Hall, QPAC

3 & 4 January

CALOUNDRA, The Events Centre

5 January

SYDNEY, Sydney Opera House

7 - 8 January

LAUNCESTON, Princess Theatre

10 January

HOBART, Wrestpoint

11 January

MELBOURNE, Convention & Exhibition Centre

13 January

NARRE WARREN, Bunjil Place

14 January

FRANKSTON, Arts Centre

16 January

Frankston Arts Centre

BENDIGO, Ulumburra Theatre

17 January