Edinburgh Fringe 2024
Low Down
Garry Starr takes the audience on a nude journey through Penguin Classics books. Stopping by literary classics like ‘Moby Dic’k and ‘The Little Prince,’ Classic Penguins pushes the bounds of what comedy can be.
Review
Classic Penguins is a mesmerizing epic based on classic texts. Well, actually, it isn’t based on the content of the books, the show’s scenes and sketches are based solely on the titles, some of which aren’t an exact description of the stories that lie within. There was some anxiety in the room before the play began. You could hear murmurs from audience members concerned that they wouldn’t understand or follow the show because they are not well versed in classic literature. Garry Starr put those worries to rest immediately.
Sometimes art is clear in its intentions. Sometimes you see a play and you understand why it has been written and why it was presented. Classic Penguins is not one of those pieces. The show left the audience in awe of what they’ve seen, but also with a sense of wonder. The show, then, seems to have been partially an experiment in the human condition. How far can you go and get the audience to buy in? How much trust can you put in the audience to do the right thing without prompting? Garry Starr’s charismatic performance shows that, in the right circumstances, you can get an audience to do almost anything.
As revealed in the show’s online description, Starr is basically stark naked throughout the show. This was the first audience test, how long would the novelty of nudity distract from the show. The answer: not long at all. The extreme pace at which the show meant that there was an acceptance of a new normal in onstage fashion. The audience faces another test when the book ‘The Great Escape’ graces the on-stage screen. What will the group do to support a fellow audience member on stage? Will they let him sit there? Will they yell instructions? Again, the audience plays right into Starr’s hands with, at least to him, the predictable response. Starr’s almost god-like ability to control the room is unlike anything I’ve ever seen.
It’s hard to get into the meat of the show without revealing too much content, and the show’s constant surprise factor is one of its greatest strengths. What can be pointed out is how many styles of theatre are presented. There’s dance, acrobatics, clown, stand-up, magic, and theatrical storytelling. At moments, these genres are mixed, but they are predominantly presented and highlighted alone. This means that the show flips in a split-second from a conversation with the audience into a highly-choreographed interpretive dance.
Classic Penguins will go down in fringe history. Not just for its quality comedy, but for its test of what comedy can be. It can best be described as an experimental show for the masses, but it reaches this height without giving up any of the risks that make experimental theatre so exciting. Classic Penguins is an energetic and edgy piece of theatre that truly has it all…except clothing.
