Review by Aislinn McSharry

Jack Dome at Pleasance Dome

Enthusiastically and engagingly, comedian Grace Helbig not only uncovers experiences with being a YouTuber in the 2010s, but also shares her navigation of breast cancer after being diagnosed at 37. Let Me Get This Off My Chest revels in dark comedy to explore the emotional journey of breast cancer, sprinkled with interesting tales of traumatic hospital gore.  

An avid and ardent storyteller, Helbig narrates the progression of her life to the point of her unexpected diagnosis. Effective use of technology adds imagery and sound to these key moments; a light and refreshing take on a serious subject matter.  

Despite Helbig’s main thematic choice, however, and sincere encouragements for audiences to get mammograms – as, statistically, at least six people in the room will have breast cancer at some stage – she fails to acknowledge that anyone else present will have had previous experiences with cancer. Similarly, it feels that much of Helbig’s humour is reliant on audiences having little knowledge or experience of difficult medical circumstances: Some anecdotes, like misdirected anger after diagnosis, feel like usual steps on the journey, rather than points of hilarity.  

With more emphasis on her especially unique experiences – at one point hilariously likening herself to a Tim Burton character when cleaning faeces off the hospital floor, after a failed attempt to get a sampling – and more attempts to build connection with the audience, Helbig’s show could have been brilliant.  

Nonetheless, Helbig successfully commands the crowd; Let Me Get This Off My Chest is an enthralling expression of experiences with cancer, a topic that deserves a more open space of discussion, especially in the face of its statistical commonality within our lives. However, it is this expression of commonality that Helbig’s show lacks.  

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