kelly mccaughan

WINNER: International Fringe Encore Series (2024)

NOMINEE: ISH Edinburgh Comedy Awards - Best Show (2024), Best Newcomer (2023)

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.

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.

Blending stand-up, clown, bouffon, and character work, McCaughan transforms the room into a high-wire descent. The result is intimate, grotesque and tender.

Hang on tight, we’re riding Sky Daddy all the way to hell.

“I suspect that to get an opportunity to experience what is one of the finest shows I have seen at The Fringe, or indeed anywhere, will require hasty action on your part. ‘Book now to avoid disappointment.”★★★★★ -Mumble Comedy

"In the end, Catholic Guilt is unconventionally enjoyable and conventionally challenging, a theatrical experience that pushes boundaries and provokes thought." ★★★★★ -A Young(ish) Perspective.

"Catholic Guilt is 100% a guilty pleasure. Kelly McCaughan is explicit in all the right and wrong ways you never knew you wanted."★★★★★ -Pow Showbiz

"McCaughan’s unwavering commitment to her craft shines through, providing the audience with a thought-provoking and unforgettable theatrical experience."★★★★-Gig Gossip

"Catholic Guilt is a raunchy, unhinged clapback at every sexual and social hang-up instilled into her by years of religious indoctrination, which makes for an outrageously entertaining hour." ★★★★ -Chortle

"A hugely entertaining clash of overbearing faith with irresistible sin."★★★★ -The List

"Catholic Guilt" is brilliantly performed, genuinely shocking (not an easy feat at the Fringe), and a work of extraordinary boldness."★★★★ -The Wee

"Irreverent, shockingly brilliant one woman theatre to change your perspective on 'God'." ★★★★ -Scots Up