the isolation of progressive hearing loss

Praise for Drew Michael
“thrillingly subversive… He wants to use the tools of narrative movies to turn a stand-up persona into something more three- dimensional. And he succeeds… hits emotional notes that stand-up rarely does… This is a heady special.” New York Times (for HBO Special Drew Michael)
“represents the past and future of stand-up comedy” GQ (for HBO Special Drew Michael)
“one of the best stand-up specials I’ve seen in years … searing and precise, philosophical and hilarious. If you watch a lot of stand up and want something that feels like levelling up, watch this” New York Times (for HBO Special Red Blue Green)
Winner: Writers’ Guild Award, Best Comedy/Variety Sketch Series for Saturday Night Live
Nominee: Writers’ Guild Award for HBO Special Drew Michael
Nominee: Writers’ Guild Award for HBO Special Red Blue Green

This is the Edinburgh debut of Brooklyn based Drew Michael who already has two HBO Specials under his belt; both nominated for the Writers Guild Award. He has appeared on Jimmy Kimmel and has written for Saturday Night Live.

Drew Michael shares his journey to self-acceptance in Drew’s Adventures; a show about bringing childhood wishes to life in spite of the obstacles seeking to thwart them.

For years, Drew was made feel like he should keep his progressive hearing loss a secret. Without adequate family support to fully engage with the conversations of hearing people around him, nor access to engage with the D/deaf community, he relied on pre- known context and self taught lip reading to understand conversations; feeling increasingly isolated as a result. Although it started as mild, his loss of hearing later became a moderate hearing loss and eventually more severe. This, combined with being inside a bubble of parental dysfunction and eventual divorce only exacerbated that feeling of social and emotional loneliness. Having never felt like he was part of the conversation let alone able to contribute to it, Drew relies on his imagination to find resolution and a happy ending to his story.

Drew makes use of sound effects, both live and recorded, to create a sonic atmosphere in which he weaves in an out of soundscapes, bringing characters to life and inviting the audience to experience being inside his head as he carries them along with him on his auditory journey. His confessional, enigmatic style draws audiences in, encouraging them to pay attention to every word. His complex emotions are the catalyst to him being on stage and personal struggle is the impetus for writing his material.

From the initial embarrassment and resistance to accept being ‘different’ to the eventual pride and openness he feels today, the journey of Drew’s Adventures will resonate with those who have dealt with hearing loss or disability as a child as well as anyone who has ever struggled to ‘fit in’.

Drew’s first HBO special, the self-titled Drew Michael was released to widespread critical acclaim due to its radical approach in both format and content. The follow up Red Blue Green continued to push the boundaries of what a stand-up special can and should be, leading the New York Times to call it ‘one of the best specials I’ve seen in years’. As well as his Writers’ Guild nominations for both specials, Drew actually holds the 2018 WGA for Best Comedy/Variety Sketch Series for his part on the writing team for Saturday Night Live. He has also released a special with Comedy Central as well as three full- length live albums.