Warning ye who enter here, this is no show for literature lovers who are expecting a serious discussion about penguin classics. Garry Starr gives an unforgettable performance as a nude penguin who is determined to get through every penguin classic novel in the most outrageous ways.
From ‘Frankenstein’ to ‘Moby Dick’ and everything in between, Starr takes the title of the book literally and acts it out in the most chaotic way. ‘The Grapes of Wrath’ by John Steinbeck is a novel about the hardships of an Oklahoma family migrating to California, but Starr’s interpretation requires two audience members pelting each other with grapes in a dramatic fashion.
When performing The Bodysurfers by Robert Drewe, Starr, you guessed it, naked bodysurfs across the audience. Starr and his cohorts at the end are naked for so long I can’t remember a time when people wore clothes. I just want to know what blackmail he’s hanging over the others’s heads to get them to agree to dance naked like a penguin in front of over a hundred people.
Although it may sound crude, Starr is masterful with the concept. The genius flow from novel to novel and the links he creates between them are hysterical. It’s incredibly unique and funny whilst still pushing the boundaries of how far he can take it, with one audience member even volunteering to get naked on stage with him.
Garry Starr: Classic Penguins, 20.30, Pleasance Courtyard – Forth, until August 26
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/garry-starr-classic-penguins
