Julian Guassardo's The Perils of Youth Heads to Shepherd's Bush

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The absurdist comedy, performed by Guassardo and Maggie Rose, blends Shakespearean rhetoric with dark surrealism.

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Following a critically acclaimed run at this summer's Camden Fringe festival – and selected Pick of the Fringe by the Camden New Journal, the Islington Tribune and the Westminster Extra – London writer Julian Guassardo's debut play The Perils of Youth is coming to the Playground Theatre.

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Following the sudden death of his father in a road traffic accident, Guassardo left a career in the third sector to pursue his long-held passion for theatre.

The result, The Perils of Youth; or, The Gall of the House of Sud, is a mischievous and menacing two-hander that earned widespread praise during its Camden Fringe run this summer, receiving pick of the Camden Fringe, as well as four stars from Everything Theatre.

'I couldn't have imagined a better response,' said Guassardo. 'To take a big risk professionally on an archetypal play in order to do something I love - and for it to bear fruit - is amazing.'

'The play explores family relationships and cycles of death and rebirth. Life can be a haunting fever dream, full of vitality, poetry and darkness, and I wanted to tap into that.'

'To see people gripped by it and then laughing along, despite themselves, is the best feeling in the world.'

Building from an absurd premise – Guassardo and Maggie Rose play a mother and son locked in a bitter, circular argument over who should open the front door – the play pushes the boundaries of Shakespearean rhetoric, veering between razor-sharp comedy and dark surrealism.

Connecting Border-Busting Theatre to Citizens of Everywhere

2 – 22 November, London

8 venues, 101 shows & events, 60 languages, 450 artists.

Voila! Theatre Festival is back to bring panlingual and migrant led performances to London. From 2–22 November the festival will continue to showcase a wide breadth of theatre across languages, stories, and aesthetics, with challenge and change in the spotlight. Host venues include Barons Court Theatre, Canal Cafe Theatre, Etcetera Theatre, Theatro Technis, The Playground Theatre, Upstairs at the Gatehouse, The Space Theatre, and of course The Cockpit, with the aim of providing a launchpad for early career artists working in theatre, platforming their work right across the capital.

Voila! Theatre Festival is produced by The Cockpit, part of United Colleges Group.

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_Originally reported by [BroadwayWorld](https://www.broadwayworld.com/uk-regional/article/THE-PERILS-OF-YOUTH-to-Play-Shepherds-Bush-Following-Camden-Fringe-20261021)._