Interview: Garry Starr on Greek Mythology

Damien Warren-Smith talks about Garry Starr's latest odyssey into Greek myths

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Garry Starr
Photo by Aaron Walker
Published 03 Aug 2022

The Ancient Greeks understood better than anyone that the gods are out to get us. Plagues and political incompetence aside, the residents of Mount Olympus tinkered in the lives of mortals, their exploits recorded by the playwrights of the time.

Writing two and a half thousand years ago, the stories by Euripides and Sophocles, alongside all of the myths and legends, have stood the test of time. After spawning spin-offs, retellings and even psychological complexes, audiences still recognise the ancient plots and flock to productions in numbers suited to an amphitheatre.

For Damien Warren-Smith – alias Garry Starr – that recognition is key to crafting and re-crafting his show: “It’s something that everyone knows something about,” he says. “I was able to make a list of all the famous figures from Greek mythology and the one thing everyone knows about them – then draw a misunderstanding from that.”

In his clown persona Garry Starr, Warren-Smith brings Greece Lightning to Edinburgh, an attempt to perform all of Greek mythology in one Fringe hour. “The general idea is that Garry has discovered his Greek heritage. He discovers the economy isn’t doing well in his homeland, so he thinks 'What if I help boost tourism by performing all of Greek mythology in an hour? Surely, everyone will want to go to Greece!'

Photo by Aaron Walker

“This is the type of high stakes, low intelligence of this character. It’s this impossible task and this utter arrogance of this character who thinks he can do everything.”

Starr previously set himself the task of performing every genre of theatre in an hour: “I needed something else that has a big pool to draw from,” he says. Greek Mythology is a huge pool, even if you only skim across its surface.

Warren-Smith uses the recognisable parts of these stories as a starting point, then jumps off into play-time, creating a highly interactive show that is different each night: the twist coming from the performance. “Oedipus is the original motherfucker,” he says, an observation which inspired Greece Lightning’s barnstormer Oedipus rap.

To a modern audience, these tragedies and myths are larger-than-life in their turmoil and excessive death. But the same audience would likely recognise the utter heartbreak of losing half your family to war, or being ostracised for your lover. These stories were meant to be experienced live.

Clowning is, in Warren-Smith’s view, “one of the oldest art forms. I could take my show to anywhere in the world and it would work. I can do it non-verbal, it crosses all kinds of barriers. Essentially clowning is an adult behaving like an infant, and that’s something that we’ve always done. Play involves other people, and play is as old as time.

“I want my shows to be pure escapism,” he adds, “I think that’s one of the reasons people come back. They say ‘I’m going to bring my mum, my grandma, my racist uncle’. In a world where we’re so divided, families can’t agree on comedy shows to go and see together, because everything’s got something political in it.

“I would describe what I do as playing with the audience. This new show I hand out props at the beginning, and they don’t know when or how they will be used. As soon as people realise that I am the butt of every joke, no one is ever made to look more stupid than me. I don’t prescribe to what I want people to do, I just give them the prop and they think 'Oh wow, I think this is the moment I need it!’”