Comedian Kyle Ayers finds humor in his painful journey
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Comedian Kyle Ayers with a mic in his hand. Photo: Courtesy of Kyle Ayers
Laughter is the only medicine that works for Kyle Ayers.
Why it matters: After suffering through years of debilitating pain and undergoing failed brain surgery, the 37-year-old comedian created a standup routine about his neurological condition, trigeminal neuralgia, as a way to cope with his circumstances.
- Allergic to painkillers prescribed to help manage the condition, Ayers tells Axios comedy has given him some relief from the chronic pain.
The big picture: About 150,000 Americans are diagnosed every year with trigeminal neuralgia. It's more common among women, with most cases developing around age 50.
- Ayers describes the pain as feeling like a "downed power line in my head is electrocuting me."
But the comedian, who first joined an improv group in college and has since performed on Conan O'Brien's show, jokes that his pain support groups are a perfect place to test new material about a condition known as the "suicide disease."
Driving the news: Ayers is performing his 90-minute set Friday and Saturday at Plays and Players Theatre for the first time in Philly.
- "I won't wear my Chiefs hat," the Kansas City fan jokes, saying he loves Philly crowds because they're a "self-hating group" that'll understand his shtick.
Local producer Dan Winikur tells Axios Ayers has a knack for making light of the darkest things in life: "A laugh is like a sneeze. It's involuntary."
Zoom in: As is Ayers' pain. He's been in the middle of a set when he has suffered a nerve attack. One of his friends told the Los Angeles Times that he witnessed Ayers doubled over in pain backstage minutes before a performance.
- Rather than cancel the show, Ayers "wiped the tears off his eyes, took a big breath and put a smile on his face and crushed it."
- The circuit is a grind, and Ayers has found himself opening for rock bands, where disinterested crowds expect guitar solos not comedic riffs. Those experiences taught Ayers to embrace bombing.
What they're saying: "There's just something insane, where you're standing there and no one likes you, and you're just like, 'How did I end up here?'" he says. "If you can get them back … that's even more fun than if you just get up and it rolls."
The bottom line: If life has given Ayers lemons, he has basically squeezed juice into his eyes in a slapstick stunt he hopes one day pays off with a big-production special.
- "I actually wrote my bucket list down the day I got my first major brain surgery, because I had spent the whole morning thinking I was going to die," he says. "My eventual goal would be to help someone fulfill their bucket list at the show."
If you go: Show starts at 8pm. Tickets: $15.