After sold-out runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe and an extended Off-Broadway engagement, Kelly McCaughan’s Catholic Guilt returns to SoHo Playhouse as part of the 2026 New York Comedy Festival.
Does Daddy Jesus’s naked body on the cross make you wet? Spoiler alert: so will this show - seriously, there’s water.
Catholic Guilt is presented as a deranged and fractured church service, that follows McCaughan as she revisits and re-shapes the absurd experiences that formed her understanding of just about everything. She unpacks losing her virginity in the most holy way, abortion, a bowling experience that sent her straight to hell and much more.
Blending stand-up, clown, bouffon, and character work, McCaughan transforms the room into a high-wire descent. The result is intimate, grotesque and tender.
At the center of the show Kelly exposes the most relatable parts about shame in an attempt to turn them into communal release. McCaughan’s physical comedy and fearless character work creates a world in which the audience is not simply watching a story unfold; they are pulled into the service, implicated in its rituals, and invited to confront their own private versions of shame and guilt.
A hit at the Edinburgh Fringe, Catholic Guilt received Best Newcomer and Best Show nominations from the ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards and won the 2024 International Fringe Encore Series, leading to its extended Off-Broadway debut at SoHo Playhouse.
Hang on tight - we’re riding Sky Daddy all the way to hell.
