What can’t Noah Szto do? That’s the question you’ll be asking yourself as you reluctantly leave the world of Med School—a whirlwind of drama, dance, music and, most importantly, laughter. Miraculously, Szto manages to take the audience through all of the chaos and anxiety of being a medical student and leaves you wanting to be one.

For most of its run, Med School has taken place at 9pm at the ACMI Gandel Lab. I was one of the few to catch the single 4pm show at Melbourne Town Hall’s Supper Room, an extra show added mid-run. Sitting regally at the corner of Swanston and Collins Street, you’ve likely walked past the iconic Town Hall a hundred times. A magnificent building, its beautiful 19th-century architecture is reflected by its towering pillars and curved arches. The venue itself was the Supper Room, a surprisingly long room which had a neat theatre-style stage set up at the front. Having seen hysterical clips from the show online and read multiple laudatory reviews, I went in expecting something great. What Stzo delivered was even better.

The show follows his journey from an overachieving high-school student to an underachieving 20-something blundering his way through med school, struggling to figure out what he wants from life. It’s incredible to watch, as he breezes through song after song, punctuating each musical number with a witty monologue to provide context.

Szto’s a natural, speaking to the audience as if they’re old friends. Good-natured in his teasing, I suspect even the most stage-shy audience member would be eager to participate in his crowd work. Szto does it all: he sings wonderfully; he’s a puppeteer, bringing to life the frowning puppet of a volunteer patient; and even serenading the audience with a piano piece. It’s astonishing that he also wrote and composed the music himself, incorporating hospital beeps and clicks. And to top it all off, his jokes work. Fresh and funny, the show is peppered with enough laughs to remind you that this is definitely a part of the MICF. Parts of the show did still fall flat. A running gag where Szto accidentally takes a swig from a jug of “piss” lost its appeal as the show went on.

It’s difficult not to relate to the show, even if you’re not a med student. Szto touches on themes familiar to us all. He explores the difficulty of resisting parental and societal pressure, as his teenage self finds himself being pushed towards a career in medicine. The show supports the weight of his existential crisis, as he examines the difficulty of pursuing a career in medicine whilst hankering to become a creative. His retellings of his blunders, during his time training in a hospital, rang true with the universal experience of mucking up in an unfamiliar setting.

Szto wraps the show up by performing a minor medical procedure on himself so undeniably clever, that he manages to make the entire room feel like their part of the show. As people started heading out, Szto made sure to talk to audience members outside. My friend and I began walking out, before turning back to speak to him ourselves. He was gracious and charming and keen to know what we thought of the show as non-med students.

This is a show that does it all. Intelligent, relevant, and fresh, it manages to tell a familiar story in a way that makes it feel new again. Even if you’re not keen on comedy, go for the singing. And if you don’t go for the singing, go for the music. Med School is a must-watch and I will bet you that Noah Szto is going to be mega-famous. I’m glad I turned around and went back to talk to him. Give it ten years and I’m sure people will say,

“You’ve met the Noah Szto?”