'Garry Starr: Classic Penguins' review — this gloriously absurd comedy show is riotous fun

Read our review of Garry Starr: Classic Penguins, now in performances at The Other Palace to 3 January 2027.

Summary

• Garry Starr brings his comedy show Classic Penguins to The Other Palace
• The absurdist performance sees him attempt to stage every Penguin Classic book
• The riotously fun show involves wordplay, physical comedy, and audience participation

There are some things an English degree prepares you for, but a semi-naked comedian styled as the Penguin Books logo, cycling through every classic the company has ever published, is not one. Garry Starr: Classic Penguins at The Other Palace is a fundamentally silly show, but one you can’t help but laugh at.

Sporting a ruff, tailcoat and very little else (unless you count the orange flippers), Damien Warren-Smith as his chaotic alter ego Starr sets out on a one-man mission to stage every Penguin Classic. The books on the hit list are lined up on a shelf, displayed to us via a live-feed camera (design by takis).

And so ensues just over an hour of clever (and not so clever) wordplay, visual gags, and unending physical comedy based around the male anatomy. Starr prances round the stage with great glee, relentlessly setting up increasingly ambitious stunts, and removing what little clothing he had on in the first place. The ludicrousness and creativity are what make the show, which dedicates at least five minutes to Warren-Smith’s overblown, pompous pronunciation of the word “literature”.

Given the ubiquitous lewd jokes, some skits write themselves (Moby Dick, The Wind in the Willows), but others are trickier to puzzle out. Wuthering Heights experiences a particularly vivid retelling involving a leaf blower and a swing. Half the fun comes from trying to second guess the punchline, though Warren-Smith knows this and regularly undermines expectations. The cultural prestige and academic baggage of the canon he is performing is set aside in favour of pure, charming absurdity.

Fresh from sell-out seasons in the West End and at the Edinburgh Fringe, Starr and director Cal McCrystal clearly know exactly what they're doing, but they aren’t doing it alone. The show requires frequent audience participation, most notably for an anachronistic skit involving The Grapes of Wrath. This sort of participation can be a gamble, but Starr’s mischievous charm makes it difficult not to play along.

It’s paced well: Starr charges through some of the books, briefly touching on The Communist Manifesto and 1984, before adding “It’s not a political show”. Then he takes his time over other titles, including when the rainbow lights go down for him to perform a Hamlet soliloquy in which all the words have been replaced with the lyrics to "Bohemian Rhapsody". There are clever asides to the sound technician, who becomes an accomplice and occasional disruptor to Starr’s mission.

The show’s success is a real testament to the value of fringe-style performances. There is a palpable sense that the audience wants him to succeed, even amid the extensive participation, because Starr’s clowning and playfulness have an infectious quality. Although it is, in essence, built around one joke, it's riotous fun to join Starr on his journey. This is an hour that you will inevitably spend laughing, and while it may not deepen your understanding of any Penguin Classics, it is arguably more enjoyable than many of them.

Garry Starr: Classic Penguins is at The Other Palace to 3 January 2027. Book Garry Starr: Classic Penguins tickets on LondonTheatre.co.uk

Photo credit: Garry Starr: Classic Penguins (Photos by Austin Ruffer)