Edinburgh Fringe Festival sensation Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen will make its Australian premiere at Arts Centre Melbourne’s Fairfax Studio from 14 January to 1 February as part of Midsumma Festival.
Written by Marcelo dos Santos (Lionboy) and directed by Matthew Xia (Blue/Orange), Feeling Afraid… is a dark new comedy about vulnerability, intimacy, ego and truth from the producers of the Olivier award-winning Baby Reindeer and the international smash-hit Fleabag.
Winner of both a Scotsman Fringe First and The Stage Edinburgh Award, Samuel Barnett (The History Boys) reprises his role as a permanently single, professionally neurotic stand-up who after years of swiping, finally meets Mr Right – and then does everything wrong. Strap in for a delightfully dark journey through self-awareness and self-sabotage as he decides whether love is worth the price of a killer punchline.
Returning to Australia for the first time since 2006, the double Tony and Olivier-nominee shared his excitement about the upcoming tour:
“Performing a solo show is such a unique challenge – it’s exposing and intimate, and that’s what makes them so captivating. I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to bring this hilariously funny and sharp story full of humanity and vulnerability to Australian audiences for the first time,” said Barnett.
Feeling Afraid… first premiered at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 2022, followed by a 2023 season London’s Bush Theatre. The acclaimed production is produced by Olivier award-winning theatre producer, Francesca Moody MBE most known as the original producer of the multi award-winning Fleabag by Phoebe Waller-Bridge and presented in association with Roast Productions.
Following its Australian debut at Arts Centre Melbourne, Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen will play at the Sydney Opera House from 5 – 23 February 2025, as part of the 2025 Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Festival program.
Image: Mihaela Bodlovic
