Garry Starr: Classic Penguins is set to open its 10-week limited run at The Other Palace (Main Theatre) on Thursday, October 22, 2026, running through January 3, 2027. Curated by Francesca Moody Productions (the powerhouse behind Fleabag and Baby Reindeer), this award-winning cult comedy blends high-energy slapstick, clowning, and literary satire.
📖 The Premise
Created and performed by Damien Warren-Smith, the alter-ego Garry Starr is a hilariously delusional comic force who has made it his personal mission to save classic literature from extinction. He sets out to perform every single Penguin Classic novel ever written—from Moby-Dick and Frankenstein to The Little Prince—in just over an hour.
🔞 Nudity & Audience Warnings
- The Costume: True to your search criteria, Garry Starr attempts this epic literary feat mostly naked, wearing little more than a pair of swimming flippers and a ruff collar.
- Advisory: The production features full male nudity, strobe lighting, and theatrical haze. Because of the explicit nature of the physical comedy and adult themes, the show is strictly restricted to audiences ages 18 and over.
⏱️ Performance Schedule & Running Time
The show has a tight running time of 1 hour and 5 minutes with no interval. The performance schedule shifts depending on the day of the week, with late-evening slots heavily favored for weekend crowds:
- Tuesdays & Wednesdays: 7:00 PM
- Thursdays, Fridays & Saturdays: 9:15 PM (Ideal for an after-dinner comedy slot)
- Sundays: 5:30 PM
🎟️ Tickets & Venue Info
- Location: The Other Palace Main Theatre, located at 12 Palace Street, London, SW1E 5JA (a short walk from Victoria Station and Buckingham Palace)
- Pricing: Tickets currently start between £20 and £24, moving up to £45 depending on seating tier and weekend demand.
- Where to Book: You can secure seats directly via The Other Palace Box Office or through West End authorized ticketing platforms like TodayTix London.
In Garry Starr: Classic Penguins, only one person goes nude: the star and creator of the show, Australian comedian Damien Warren-Smith.
Because this is a one-man solo show, he is the only cast member on stage. Playing his hilariously delusional clown alter ego, “Garry Starr,” Warren-Smith spends practically the entire 65-minute running time performing in the nude.
What to Expect From the Performance:
- The “Costume”: He starts the show facing away from the audience in a high-backed leather chair. When he turns around, he is wearing a top hat, a black formal tailcoat, an Elizabethan ruff collar, bright orange webbed penguin flippers on his feet—and absolutely nothing else. He quickly sheds the hat and coat, performing the vast majority of the show completely bare.
- The Nature of the Nudity: The full-frontal male nudity is continuous and deliberately used for physical comedy. Reviewers note that he fearlessly embraces his nakedness with utter abandon, using it like a “second suit” as he climbs on props, performs aerial stunts, and acts out absurd literary parodies.
- Audience Involvement: While the show is famous for high-energy and close-up audience participation, the spectators themselves stay fully clothed. Only Garry takes his clothes off to “save literature”