CRYBABIES: THE SCARING

Soho Theatre

★★★★

“bold, assured and impressively crafted work”

Edinburgh Comedy Award nominees Crybabies burst from the shadows with ‘The Scaring’, a slick horror-comedy parody packed with thrills, spills and actual chills. Backed by Olivier Award-winning Francesca Moody Productions of ‘Fleabag’ fame, this fast-paced horror hybrid is as smart as it is funny.

When a former p-riest officer haunted by the loss of his partner in chrism checks into a far-flung hotel, he soon senses something sinister lurks beneath the surface. Teaming up with a ghost called Gerry, can they crack the case before the hotel’s darkness consumes them all?

Michael Clarke, James Gault and Ed Jones have created a rare beast: a show that works equally well as both horror and comedy. Beneath the barrage of rapid-fire jokes lies a genuinely scary show, elevated by surprisingly effective jump scares and John Bulleid’s inventive illusions. The jokes are woven in seamlessly, serving the story rather than interrupting it, and clever callbacks ensuring nothing goes to waste. And while the plot follows familiar beats and the humour occasionally feels more farce than fresh, its sharp horror references and brilliantly self-aware multi-roling shine. Overall, it’s one of the most seamless unions of horror and comedy I’ve seen on stage.

Director Jon Brittain, with associate Grace Duggan, fittingly goes guns blazing with highly ambitious staging. The striking set (Cecilia Carey) and video design (Nina Dunn) have a cinematic edge, creating some impressive effects and real scares. The pacing is superb, steadily raising the stakes without missing a comedy or horror beat. The choreography is slick and impressive, bringing physical comedy and even scene changes into the fun. It’s bold, assured and impressively crafted work.

The design is also smart and striking throughout. Bethany Gupwell’s lighting and Ed Lewis’ sound are finely tuned for maximum scares, and Carey’s costumes evolve from everyday realism to delightfully grotesque body horror.

Clarke, Gault and Jones are a comic force to be reckoned with, switching effortlessly between characters and showcasing impeccable comic timing. Jones’ elastic acting shines, mixing camp absurdity with gloriously dark punchlines. Gault’s deadpan delivery cuts through the chaos, making the creepy Slimothy all the more unnerving. Clarke’s world-weary priest anchors the madness with real heart, giving the story both emotional weight and a satisfying redemption arc. Together, the trio operate with remarkable chemistry and comic precision.

A wickedly funny horror-comedy parody, Crybabies’ ‘The Scaring’ is a devilishly good start to spooky season.

CRYBABIES: THE SCARING

Soho Theatre

Reviewed on 7th September 2026

by Hannah Bothelton

Photography by Mihaela Bodlovic

CRYBABIES: THE SCARING

★★★★★

“a show of sparkling brilliance”

Let’s start with the show warning: “contains nudity and mild language”. Missing from this warning is “danger from collapse as a result of extreme laughing”.

This is not the show for you if naked bodies on stage offend your sensibilities. Garry Starr gets on with the show (or gets it all off?) from the moment he swings his chair around to face us – he’s been patiently waiting with his back to the audience as we take our seats. It’s all there – yes, I mean all the naughty bits – on full show. The audience explodes in laughter which pretty much never stops as the next 70 minutes roars past like a Southern Ocean squall.

And don’t expect any respect for the great literature of the Cream and Orange Penguin paperbacks era. Garry Starr – the creation of Australian comic Damien Warren-Smith – gallops through all the great books – everything from Hamlet (nodding to Garry’s former take on Shakespeare) to The Grapes of Wrath. The works are stacked on a bookshelf at the front of the stage, the titles projected on a screen at the back – set in a silver foil Antarctic mountain – as he pulls each one out then carelessly tosses it on the floor when that sketch moves on.

This is a show of sparkling brilliance. Garry/Damien is a master of mime, clowning, improvisation and wordplay. Part of the fun for us in the seats is the guessing game as the title appears. Will this one be a pun on the title? Just think what you might do with Moby Dick. Or will a member of the audience be hauled on stage to help connect four apparently unrelated titles?

It’s a one man show – and it’s not. It’s cleverly scripted – and it leaves so much to chance. It’s a riff on the classics, yet it is a fond recall of so many great books. It’s an extreme performance in the nude, yet it doesn’t shock. Despite all the comic potential, there isn’t a single barb. Garry the character is all the greater, because of the warmth Warren-Smith shows as a performer.

Garry has built up a following. In the queue to get into the theatre was a group to one side in penguin costumes, each carrying one of the eponymous books: a band of costumed fans like those waiting to attend a singalong performance of ‘Sound of Music’. That too proved a piece of pageantry. The performance starts even before you enter.

Tag Archives: Francesca Moody Productions

CRYBABIES: THE SCARING

★★★★

Soho Theatre

CRYBABIES: THE SCARING

Soho Theatre

★★★★

“bold, assured and impressively crafted work”