Tony and Olivier nominated actor Samuel Barnett will make his fringe debut in the world premiere of Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible is Going to Happen, a darkly humorous play examining vulnerability, intimacy, ego and truth written by Marcelo Dos Santos (Lionboy, Complicite).
A permanently single, professionally neurotic stand-up finally meets Mr Right and then does everything wrong. But is Mr Right quite what he seems? And how far will the comedian go to get a laugh?
Feeling Afraid… is a bitingly honest comedy drama from the Olivier Award-winning producers of Fleabag and Baby Reindeer and Fringe First winning producers of Baby Reindeer, Square Go and Angry Alan.
Starring Dirk Gently’s Holistic Detective Agency, History Boys and Twelfth Night actor Samuel Barnett, this stripped back one-man play, presented in the form of a stand-up gig, is directed by Actors Touring Company Artistic Director Matthew Xia.
Director Matthew Xia, said: ”I’ve been a fan of Marcelo and his writing for a while, so when he shared this new play with me and explained it was written with the incredible actor Samuel Barnett in mind I leapt at the chance to be involved. There is so much that appeals to me in this piece – a deeply flawed, but loveable, protagonist trying to work through his issues in front of an audience, the conflicting themes of desire and self-sabotage, and formally it’s an incredibly clever play sitting at the confluence of stand-up, storytelling and theatre.”
Actor Samuel Barnett said: “Having worked with Marcelo Dos Santos before it was the easiest yes when he approached me about collaborating on this brilliant new play. I’m thrilled to be working with such a fantastic team in Marcelo, Matthew Xia and Francesca Moody Productions to bring this funny and dark yet hugely relatable story to Edinburgh. This will be my first time as a performer at the Festival Fringe and there is no greater or scarier challenge than a one-person show, so I’m excited and terrified in equal measure. I’m especially thrilled to be doing the Festival Fringe after what has been such a terrible couple of years for everyone during the pandemic. Theatre is all about connection and community and nowhere does that better and on such a scale than the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.”
Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible is Going to Happen is at Roundabout @ Summerhall, 3 – 28 August 2022 (not 4, 9, 16, 23), 18:50 (19:50)
