In 2018, following his scandalous dismissal from the Royal Shakespeare Company due to ‘artistic differences’, disgraced actor Garry Starr stepped onto the stage and defied his critics by performing every style of theatre imaginable, thus saving the performing arts from extinction.
Since that hallowed day, his creator, Damien Warren-Smith has gone on to star in multiple award-winning shows and Garry himself has become a firm favourite with comedy and theatre fans with numerous sell-out UK shows at Soho Theatre, the Edinburgh Fringe, and across the world.
But true Garry fans may argue that his greatest accomplishment was when he first broke free of the shackles of ‘conventional theatre’ and did indeed ‘Perform Everything’, tearing through genres with little regard for personal safety and even less regard for art. And so now, for the first time in five years, Garry is bringing his original debut show back to the UK for a four-week run at Southwark Playhouse Borough.
Nothing is sacred during this ‘masterclass in mockery’ (London Evening Standard). From Classical to Physical Theatre, Burlesque to Butoh, Melodrama to Mask, even Cirque Nouveau and contemporary ‘Euro Theatre’ get the Garry Starr treatment in this hilarious physical comedy about over-ambition and underachievement, ‘Garry Starr Performs Everything’.
Damien trained as an actor in Sydney, a clown in Paris and a mime in Berlin before collaborating with renowned comedy director Cal McCrystal for his breakout solo show, ‘Garry Starr Performs Everything’, which won awards at fringe festivals in Adelaide, Sydney, Brighton and Manchester and was nominated for both Best Newcomer & The Golden Gibbo at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival. The show sold out every single night for a month at the Edinburgh Fringe before transferring to London’s Soho Theatre.
Damien Warren-Smith A.K.A. Garry Elizabeth Starr is a writer, producer and performer of delightfully silly comedy for stage and screen.
Growing up in regional Australia, Damien tried his hand at every sport imaginable before finally accepting that he was destined to dress up and pretend to be other people. He flew the coop to London where he worked as an actor with some of the UK’s biggest hitters including BBC, ITV, Tall Stories, Nottingham Playhouse and Hull Truck Theatre. He spoke actual words on TV shows Law & Order: UK, The Persuasionists, and Love My Way.
Before the pandemic, he teamed up with McCrystal again to create the role of Reverend Peabody as part of the Atomic Saloon Show, which played to packed houses at The Venetian in Las Vegas.
When COVID came along and ruined everything, Damien returned to Melbourne and got a job as a delivery driver, dropping off brand-spanking new bicycles to the people of Victoria. It turns out eight hours a day in a van is a great time for creative thought. He emerged from lockdown with his new solo show Garry Starr: Greece Lightning, which picked up the top prize at Adelaide Fringe, Best Comedy at Manchester Fringe, Best Show at Gothenburg Fringe and was one of the best reviewed shows at Edinburgh Fringe 2022.
Damien now resides in Melbourne where he continues to write and perform and ride bicycles and read books and hang out wherever there are dogs.
Garry Starr Performs Everything
Southwark Playhouse Borough. 77-85 Newington Causeway, London SE1 6BD.
29th November 2023 – 23rd December 2023
www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/productions/garry-starr-performs-everything
