Edinburgh Comedy Award Best Newcomer nominees Crybabies (James Gault, Michael Clarke, Ed Jones) and the Olivier Award-winning producers behind Fleabag and Baby Reindeer join forces to present The Scaring – a narrative horror-comedy sketch show about fear, faith, fathers (the normal kind), fathers (the church kind), fantoms (Phantoms), and finally moving on.
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. Uncovering the ghost of a long dead resident roaming the halls, Arthur has no choice but to conceal his discovery from the watchful eyes of uptight hotel manager, Mr Lyle, who insists his establishment is definitely not haunted (no matter how many heart attacks his guests seem to have).
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, walking waxworks, mental health inspectors 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 and yet, they always do.
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.
The Scaring marks a bold new chapter for Crybabies – bigger, stranger, and more ambitious than ever. Produced by Francesca Moody Productions – the Olivier Award-winning powerhouse behind Fleabag, Baby Reindeer and Kathy & Stella Solve a Murder – this is Crybabies with the volume up. It’s slicker, spookier, and somehow even sillier.
Since their last Fringe run, all three Crybabies have been quietly levelling up, working on a new BBC radio series, developing projects for screen, and popping up on TV including roles in Jack Rooke’s Award-Winning Channel 4 series Big Boys, Disney’s Extraordinary and Ricky Jervais’ Afterlife on Netflix. Their solo careers have taken exciting steps forward, while their collective chaos has only grown more refined.
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.
The trio’s upcoming BBC radio series is due to be released this year. The Scaring will premiere at Pleasance Two – located, appropriately enough, on the site of an old graveyard.
Ed Jones is an actor, writer and character comedian who has appeared in hit TV series including Bridgerton, Big Boys and Not Going Out. A celebrated social media star, his videos have amassed over 80 million views across Instagram and TikTok.
James Gault trained as a clown at L’Ecole Philipe Gaulier and has been described as having “a remarkable comedy presence” (Dominic Maxwell, The Times). He has appeared in numerous TV shows including After Life on Netflix, Murder They Hope for UKTV Gold and the upcoming Trespasses for Channel 4
Michael Clarke has starred in numerous hit shows including Netflix’s Lockwood & Co and Disney Plus’ Extraordinary. He also plays Tom Dudley-Brown, co-host of hit satire podcast Everything Is News. Described by the Times as ‘The UK’s hottest spoof podcast’ it shot to number 5 in the UK podcast charts only two months after its launch.
