Crybabies: The Scaring to premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe
- 10 hours ago
- 3 min read
Francesca Moody Productions in association with Plosive Live present Crybabies: The Scaring, directed by Jon Brittain. Premiere at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at Pleasance Two.
Preview
Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer nominees Crybabies (Michael Clarke, James Gault, Ed Jones) join forces with Olivier Award-winning Fleabag and Baby Reindeer producers Francesca Moody Productions and director Jon Brittain (Baby Reindeer, Kathy and Stella Solve a Murder!), to present The Scaring - a terrifying tale of fear, faith, fathers (dads), fathers (priests), fantoms (phantoms), and finally moving on.
The Scaring will premiere at the Edinburgh Fringe at Pleasance Two - located, appropriately enough, on the site of an old graveyard.
When former priest Arthur Holland checks into a remote hotel, he soon finds out it’s not just the breakfast buffet which poses a threat to life. Forced into an unlikely double act with Gerry, the ghost of a long dead guest, Arthur must tackle demons both public and private under the watchful eye of Mr Lyle - the hotel's Norman Bates-esque manager.
With absurd characters, classic horror tropes, and a plot that twists itself into ever stranger territory, The Scaring combines Crybabies’ signature blend of surreal sketch, narrative ambition, and theatrical mischief. Expect Shakespearean zombies, broken-armed serial killers and walking waxworks, in a terrifying tale where not everything is as it seems. Or rather, as it screams.
Despite the chaos, it all makes sense. The Scaring moves at a breakneck pace, with Crybabies shapeshifting through dozens of roles and whiplash-fast costume changes – often within the same scene. The sheer number of characters, the speed of the switches, and the fact that the audience somehow always knows exactly who’s who borders on the miraculous.
The show embraces a sharper visual ambition this year, with moments of genuinely slick theatricality – but it never loses the ramshackle brilliance Crybabies are known for. Expect high drama built from low-budget nonsense: costumes assembled from scraps, effects powered by suggestion, and set pieces that are both ridiculous and ridiculously effective. It’s big-budget horror on a shoestring; ambitious, theatrical, and still held together with gaffer tape.
This is Crybabies’ third Fringe run, following their breakout debut Danger Brigade (2019) and the sci-fi epic Bagbeard (2022), both of which sold out and earned the trio a loyal, slightly obsessed fanbase. With their signature blend of chaos, tenderness and theatrical invention, Crybabies have become one of the most widely loved sketch acts on the Fringe – and they’re only getting stranger.
Crybabies said: “Three guys in their thirties doing narrative sketch comedy? Now that’s terrifying. We’re thrilled to be back at the Fringe combining our three great loves - horror, comedy and globally revered arts festivals - and the fact we’re getting to do it with FMP is as crazy as it is insane. In preparation for The Scaring, some of us (Michael and James) watched hundreds of horror films. However, another of us (Ed) fell asleep during Rosemary’s Baby, so expect big scares, big laughs, and an unresolved plot line about a couple living happily in New York.”
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe runs from 7 – 31 August 2026, staging more than 4,000 shows covering theatre, circus, cabaret, comedy, dance, children's shows, music, musicals, the spoken word and more. Visit: https://www.edfringe.com/
