Kelly McCaughan: Catholic Guilt at SoHo Playhouse

As part of this year’s New York Comedy Festival, Edinburgh Fringe star Kelly McCaughan brings her critically-acclaimed Catholic Guilt back to SoHo Playhouse from October 29-November 13. Barrelling straight out of the celebrated Edinburgh Fringe alt-clown scene, McCaughan has starred in Natalie Palamides’ Lady Magic and is a collaborator, alongside Viggo Venn and Zach Zucker in the Edinburgh/Netflix sensation Stamptown. Catholic Guilt boasts multiple sold-out runs and award nominations at the Edinburgh Fringe and an extended Soho Playhouse Off-Broadway run as part of the International Fringe Encore Series in 2024.

Catholic Guilt is presented as a deranged and fractured church service that follows McCaughan as she revisits and re-shapes the absurd experiences that formed her understanding of just about everything. The show asks/warns, “does daddy Jesus's naked body on the cross make you wet? This show will. Seriously, there's water.” She unpacks losing her virginity in the most holy way, abortion, a bowling experience that sent her straight to hell and much more.

McCaughan, who went to Catholic school from pre-school through twelfth grade, said, “the show is my attempt to undo shame and guilt for the audience and myself as it relates to religion, but it bleeds into other more universal themes about death, sexuality, and existence. You’ve never seen a show about religion like this before.”

Blending the practices of stand-up, clown, bouffon, and character work, McCaughan transforms the room into a high-wire act that is equal parts intimate, grotesque and tender. The show centers on exposing the most relatable aspects of shame in an attempt to conjure communal release. McCaughan’s physical comedy and fearless character work create a world where audience members do not simply watch a story unfold; they are pulled into the service, implicated in its rituals, and invited to confront their own shame and guilt.

Catholic Guilt sold out two runs at Edinburgh Fringe, where it received Best Newcomer and Best Show nominations from the ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards and won the 2024 International Fringe Encore Series. The show has run at Soho Playhouse (NYC), Caveat (NYC), Union Hall (NYC), The Elysian Theater (LA), The Rockwell (Boston), Fringearts (Philly), Theatre Exile (Philly), and Benson Theater (Omaha) and now returns to Soho Playhouse for its biggest Off-Broadway run yet!.

Hang on tight - we’re riding Sky Daddy all the way to hell.