‘Garry Starr: Classic Penguins’ brings a brilliantly silly, mostly naked literary marathon off Broadway

Writer/performer Damien Warren-Smith, who created the alias of Garry Starr, discusses his comedy sensation about hilariously saving books from extinction.

Summary

• Damien Warren-Smith is the writer and performer of Garry Starr: Classic Penguins
• Garry is Warren-Smith's alter ego who sets out to save literature from extinction by performing every Penguin Classics book in under an hour
• Off-Broadway performances run September 3 to October 4 at Studio Seaview
• Warren-Smith discusses the making of Garry and how the show allows adult audiences to have childish fun

New York audiences are in for an outrageous comedy whirlwind this fall as Garry Starr: Classic Penguins makes its Off-Broadway premiere. Playing Studio Seaview from September 3 to October 4, the solo show follows Garry Starr, the egotistical alter ego of Australian writer/performer Damien Warren-Smith, as he attempts to save literature from extinction by performing every Penguin Classic novel in under an hour, while mostly naked. Classic Penguins arrives with a slew of major global accolades under its belt, including Most Outstanding Show at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Best Comedy at both the Adelaide Fringe and Fringe World.

Warren-Smith first devised his character as the master of ceremonies for a clown troupe called The Plague of iDiots. “We came up with the name Garry just because there was a newspaper article saying that, for the first time ever, there had been no recent babies born called Garry because it’s such an out-of-date name,” Warren-Smith explained. “So it just felt right that this dorky MC character was called Garry, and then Starr because he thinks he’s brilliant.”

The idea for Classic Penguins struck the creator when he spotted the iconic orange-and-white spines of Penguin Classics in a bookshop. He quickly realized he wanted Garry to save literature. Because real penguins are also endangered, Warren-Smith formulated a hysterical connection: Garry thinks the aquatic birds actually wrote the books, and the species is dying out because no one is reading them. He also frequently misunderstands the stories and takes their titles literally: He thinks “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is literally just one person flying over a cuckoo’s nest,” Warren-Smith said as an example.

The performer described Garry's thinking as “idiot logic.” “It’s got to be a very, very simple premise, but there’s got to be a connection, otherwise it leads into absurdism,” Warren-Smith said of Classic Penguins. “And absurdism is wonderful, but there’s a glass ceiling with how funny something can be when you don’t have context. If you laugh at something which is idiotic as opposed to something absurd, it’s, in my experience, much funnier.”

Taking on the entire literary canon requires manic energy, and director Cal McCrystal helped Warren-Smith refine the chaos into a tightly paced hour. But maintaining the breathless momentum of performing dozens of novels in under an hour comes naturally to the trained actor.

“I can quite honestly say that 99% of the time, I’m not thinking about anything other than playing,” Warren-Smith said of his onstage flow state. Warren-Smith embraces the primal, universal fun of physicality, including the classical foundations of mime and clowning that inform the show.

“I think clown is the oldest form of comedy,” Warren-Smith said. “I’d be very surprised if there was another way we were making each other laugh before we had [...] falling over. Laughing at one another predates language.”

Ultimately, the goal of Classic Penguins is to provide escapism, joy, and inspiration. Warren-Smith said performing the show naked (save for a tuxedo jacket and flippers) is even a means to that end: It prevents audiences from writing off the silly physical comedy as merely childish. By framing Classic Penguins as a mature performance, grown-ups feel permission to let loose and laugh at the antics.

“I make kids shows for adults,” he joked, but also said earnestly, “I really hope that people can just forget any worries they’ve got and realize you can actually do what brings you joy and make a living out of it.

"It doesn’t have to have a negative impact upon society,” he continued. “In fact, it can have a positive one.”

Photo credit: Damien Warren-Smith as Garry Starr. (Photos by Matt Crockett)