GARRY STARR: CLASSIC PENGUINS Will Make U.S. Debut Off-Broadway in September
The limited, five- week engagement will play Studio Seaview from September 3 to October 4, 2026.
Garry Starr: Classic Penguins, written and performed by Damien Warren-Smith, will make its U.S. premiere this fall. Following sold-out engagements in London’s West End, Sydney, Melbourne, and the Edinburgh Fringe, the limited, five- week engagement will play Studio Seaview (305 W. 43rd, NYC), from September 3 to October 4, 2026, with an Opening Night set for Tuesday, September 8.
The classics, stripped bare. Winner of Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s top award and ‘Best Comedy’ at Adelaide Fringe and World Fridge, Garry Starr now heads to New York hell-bent on saving books from extinction by performing every Penguin Classic novel ever written in under an hour, (mostly) naked. Starr takes the audience on a literary adventure through the world’s most iconic works of fiction. From “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” to “Moby Dick” and everything in between, nothing is safe from being lampooned in this show.
Read our review of the 2025 London production here.
The creative team for Garry Starr: Classic Penguins features director Cal McCrystal, scenic designer Takis, and lighting designer Lily Woodford-Lewis. Hudson Theatrical Associates serves as production supervisor with Seaview’s Jonathan Whitton as General Manager.
About Damien Warren-Smith
Damien Warren-Smith is an award-winning writer, producer and performer of “brilliantly stupid physical comedy” (Fest Mag). He studied acting at Actors Centre Australia in Sydney, clowning atÉcole Philippe Gaulier in Paris, and corporeal mime at Atelier des Mimes in Berlin. His debut solo show Garry Starr Performs Everything was nominated for both Best Newcomer & The Golden Gibbo at the 2018 Melbourne International Comedy Festival as well as a string of UK awards. His follow-up show, Greece Lightning, picked up top awards in Adelaide, Sydney, Gothenburg and Manchester. Following hit engagements in the West End and several Australian festivals, Warren-Smith is currently performing Classic Penguins in Sydney, Australia through July 5, and will return to Edinburgh Fringe this summer from August 5 – 20, prior to opening in New York. The basis for Damien’s performance work is to use playfulness to tell stories in a more engaging and impactful way. Inspired by master clown Phillipe Gaulier, the pleasure of entertaining through simple, beautiful idiocy forms the foundations of his work.
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