August 16, 2026
Sarah Roberts solemnly enters the room, wearing a hooded robe and chains, in keeping with the horror theme of the title (and flyer and poster), before removing the hood, and flipping the mood by apologising if she scared us.
I’ve been trying not to read show blurbs, so that I’m surprised by whatever happens (although the blurbs are of course often written so early in the year that they bear little relation to what actually ends up in there!) To be honest I had worried slightly that Scary Movie 7 might be an analysis of horror movie tropes – although I’ve seen Sarah a bunch of times and was pretty sure that even if that was the premise, she’d have made it work. It’s not though, it’s something far more autobiographical, revealing and interesting.
Sarah’s delivery is light and airy, something she expertly uses to misdirect the audience away from her punchlines. Occasionally, she’ll add an unexpected growl that catches us off guard and helps land the darker stuff. These are techniques that quickly come in handy, as almost the first thing she tells us is that she ate her twin in the womb. ‘What a girl boss, right?’
Sarah’s chimeric twin, Siobhan, is actually better off in some ways, she explains: she’s never known fear or shame. She never had to admit on stage that her first crush is a dad from an ad in the Argos catalogue! Sarah’s relationship to Siobhan develops from a series of (very good) gags into a study of an abiding sense of being alone that she can’t seem to shake.
The story changes gear when Roberts tells us about a viral social media post that travelled across the world while she slept. After waking to find 700k notifications on her phone she fears she’s posted a photo of her bumhole. Going viral in this way felt so strange, she reckons, because at that moment she’d never before been witnessed by so, so many people – while feeling so alone.
This is ultimately a deeply personal show about the impossibility of Roberts’ ever finding her missing chimeric other self. It’s a journey that requires she tell us that she’s on the dating app Field because she’s been banned from Hinge (a funny story) which leads into an explanation of why she went to an all-girls secondary school (another funny story) and the idea of perpetual stew, and what it might be a metaphor for (which is funny and poignant). It’s impressive just how many anecdotes and routines she gets through here, while still maintaining a strong narrative direction. And it’s all good!
Scary Movie 7’s finale is both theatrical and visceral, and brings with it a wave of catharsis that ties up the narrative well.
This is a funny show, with lots to chew over and is never less than fascinating. Sarah Roberts is so likable, that I found myself really hoping she’s happy with how Scary Movie 7 turned out – the audience certainly were.
SARAH ROBERTS, Scary Movie 7 – Monkey Barrell 2, 10pm
Sarah Stringer