Crawley - finding the comedy after near-death experience

He opted to smile and is still doing so as he takes to the road with Emmanuel Sonubi: Life After Near Death with dates including Thursday, November 27 in the Hawth Theatre Studio, Crawley.

The show offers a deeply personal but hilariously sharp exploration of what happens when life throws its toughest challenges your way. After surviving heart failure, Emmanuel takes audiences on a rollercoaster ride through his journey of recovery, resilience and the moments of comedy that emerge even in life’s darkest corners.

As he says: “It’s personal, it’s raw, but most importantly, it’s funny.” And the really interesting thing is that he certainly doesn't wish it had never happened.

“The first I knew wasn’t the first time that I actually accepted it. The first time I knew was about a week before. This was September 2019, and I felt something really weird in my chest. Every time I lay down I just felt really out of breath. I tried to ignore it because I'm a man and because I'm a real man and real men don't get ill. I then got a throat infection which I should have had treated but didn't. I just thought that it was a cold. I was due to go to Dubai and I just thought it's a throat infection, how bad can that be. But it turns out that when it spreads to your throat and lungs then it really can be pretty bad. It then hit my heart and it triggered cardiomyopathy which is heart disease. My lung function was eight per cent and my heart was not able to pump oxygen around my body. I could not breathe. It was horrible. It was like I could imagine what it would feel like to drown. I couldn't take deep breaths.”

Emmanuel flew back from Dubai convinced that he had lung cancer: “I was coughing up blood and to my mind when you cough up blood you've got lung cancer and you're dying very soon.”

He was made to go to hospital: “And that's where I found out what was going on. They thought that my heart could stop at any moment and at one point they were talking about a heart transplant because my heart function was so low. There were days when I couldn't sleep. It was terrifying. It was so surreal. But there were a couple of days where I could feel quite calm because I accepted what was going to happen. And it just changes your life dramatically.

“When I was a kid, I grew up in church. I would go to church every Sunday. I must have been ten or 11 and I remember a sermon saying as long as you repent your sins you will go to heaven, and ten-year-old me thought that that was awesome. I could do whatever I wanted as long as I said sorry before I died. I hadn't thought about that for many years. And then I was lying in my hospital bed thinking about it and I suddenly thought to myself but I'm not sorry! And just thinking that was very calming.”

Inevitably, the whole experience certainly brought a change in perspective: “I don't argue anymore. I accept that people have different opinions. Arguing doesn't matter so I just don’t do it. I think I'm now much more open-minded. Everything is about the experience rather than being right or wrong. Life is much more about the conversation rather than the outcome.

“And I like the me that I am now. I know what I think now about most things and I'm certainly trying to be better. And I'm glad that it happened. As I say, I like the me now. You don't know what you don't know but now I know what I didn't know and I know that things are just things.”