Camden Fringe hit comes to Shepherd’s Bush described as “blackly funny and menacing” and “Shakespearean”

The Perils of Youth is the debut play from London writer Julian Guassardo. 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.



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.

The Perils of Youth; or The Gall of the House of Sud
Created by Julian Guassardo, performed by Maggie Rose and Julian Guassardo, produced by Green Man Productions
Performance date: Tuesday 10 November 2026 at 7:30 pm and Wednesday 11 November at 9:00pm
Address: The Playground Theatre, 8 Latimer Industrial Estate, Latimer Rd, London W10 6RQ
Running Time: approximately 50 mins, no intervals
Age guidance: 14+; references to death and generational trauma
Tickets: Standard £16, Concessions £12
Box Office: boxoffice@theplaygroundtheatre.org.uk or on 02089600110
Tickets available at here.

VOILA! THEATRE FESTIVAL 2026
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.