Stand-up show in which Garry Starr reads every Penguin Classic novel ever written, mostly naked but wearing flippers.
Garry Starr brings Classic Penguins to The Other Palace Theatre from 22 October to 3 January. It's a West End run for the award-winning comic, who's coming off sell-out seasons in the West End and Edinburgh.
The premise is as absurd as it sounds: Starr sets out to save books from extinction by performing every Penguin Classic novel ever written. He does it mostly naked, wearing flippers. It's a high-concept, low-clothing sort of thing, and the reviews have leaned into the chaos of it. Time Out called it 'chaotic brilliance' and 'wildly original and relentlessly funny', Metro described it as 'euphoric chaos', and The Stage went with 'joyously, jaw-droppingly fun'. The Scotsman summed him up as 'a very funny man who is peculiarly averse to wearing trousers', while The Guardian called him an 'ingenious comic' wunderkind.
Behind the scenes, the show was created by Damien Warren-Smith, directed by Cal McCrystal, and designed by takis. It's produced by Francesca Moody Productions in association with MILKE. A few things to keep in mind before you book: it contains full nudity, mild language, and voluntary audience interaction, so you'll want to know that going in. There's also a small bit of good to go with the madness — The Other Palace runs a new writing development fund, and 5p from every ticket sold goes towards supporting emerging playwrights.
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It runs from 22 October through to 3 January, with Tuesday and Wednesday shows at 7.00pm, Thursday to Saturday at 9.15pm, and Sunday matinees at 5.30pm. Each performance lasts an hour and five minutes, and tickets are between £20 and £45. You'll find it at The Other Palace Theatre, 12 Palace Street, London, SW1E 5JA.
