The Eulogy of Toby Peach Theatre & Performing Arts

I was born on 18th December 1988. I dressed up as a bandicoot once. I was diagnosed with cancer 3,322,000 minutes ago…

I dressed up as a bandicoot once. I was diagnosed with cancer 3,322,000 minutes ago…

Terrifyingly, one in two of us will experience cancer first-hand. Toby Peach has bravely brought this universal issue to the stage and now his highly-acclaimed, five-star, award-winning Edinburgh Fringe show is embarking on a UK tour, starting at Vault Festival in London.

The Eulogy of Toby Peach is the story of Toby’s journey with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a cancer of the lymph nodes that he faced at the age of 19 and again at 21. Toby didn’t know what cancer was, what happens when it’s treated and the effects it can have. A Eulogy is a celebration of life - we will all need one; Toby is just delivering his now.

The Eulogy of Toby Peach is a discovery of self-mortality and this original piece explores a true story and an important and difficult subject in a refreshing, insightful and humorous way. The show delves into the moments when a eulogy may have been a very real possibility for Toby and how those moments changed his life forever.

It’s a triumphant celebration of an inspirational man’s determination to survive. He’s … here now, he explains, because of the £50,000 we, as taxpayers, have given for his treatment. And at a time of government cuts, his final “thank you” is made especially poignant (The Scotsman).

Toby comments, I’m really excited to be giving The Eulogy a new lease of life in 2016. We were so inspired by the learnings and ideas taken away from the experience last year. Since Edinburgh we’ve been invited by numerous charities to bring The Eulogy to their audiences; receiving a standing ovation from 300 young people and their support teams at Teenage Cancer Trust’s conference Find Your Sense Of Tumour was an unbelievable experience. I cannot wait to reach more audiences across the UK with our show and outreach work, continuing to raise awareness about cancer whilst delivering a show that engages its audiences in this difficult subject matter.

Join Toby as he enters the (not so) exclusive Cancer Club; sample chemotherapy cocktails, select the perfect funeral playlist and marvel at Willy Wonka’s life-saving stem cell machine. From diagnosis to remission, relapse and treatment, experience a young man's journey with cancer in this honest, fascinating and inspiring exploration of modern science and the wonders of the human body.

The Eulogy of Toby Peach started life as a short story performed at the BAC, subsequently gaining developmental support from Old Vic New Voices. It was awarded the IdeasTap Underbelly Award in 2015. The UK tour of The Eulogy of Toby Peach has been generously funded by the Wellcome Trust and Arts Council England.

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