Steven Webb as The Comedian in “Feeling Afraid as if Something Terrible is Going to Happen” at Studio Theatre. Photo by DJ Corey Photography.
A comedian walks into a bar, delivers a great set, and his boyfriend doesn’t laugh at a single joke. In fact, his boyfriend never laughs at any of his jokes, on or off-stage. An obsession grows. In “Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen,” The Comedian spirals into anxieties and self-sabotage as he wrestles with how to not always perform. A one-man-play framed as a stand up comedy show, Marcelo Dos Santos’ scripts blurs the lines of genres. Despite the alarming title and disquieting undercurrents, “Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen” is often very funny, albeit with many jokes too vulgar for a family friendly publication. A strange and elusive work, this British import to the US arrives at Studio Theatre in time for Pride.
Despite the alarming title and disquieting undercurrents, ‘Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen’ is often very funny…
After its debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, “Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen” carries a distinctively British flavor of comedy. Shocking jokes tinged with melancholy are delivered deadpan and then promptly brushed aside by The Comedian (Steven Webb). But the American Boyfriend becomes the unseen foil to the stereotypically British emotional repression. For the 36-year-old Comedian, comfortable in messy situation-ships, endlessly scrolling the apps, and contorting himself to whatever his hookups want, The Boyfriend’s niceness is terrifying.
Switching between accents fluidly, when Webb gives voice to The Boyfriend, he’s suddenly grounded, patient, and warm. But in his natural state, The Comedian becomes a frenetic tangle of neuroses as he paces and lunges in a flurry of movement. An absurd length of mic cord for the intimate Studio Theatre becomes a black tangle on the stage as The Comedian tugs and whips it, clutching the mic like a baby’s blanket. It’s only in the most somber moments that The Comedian can leave behind the mic, stripping away the shield of humor. Visually, director Matthew Xia makes undeniably clear that The Comedian is not okay. It’s no surprise the comedian rated himself a 10/10 for feeling that “something terrible is going to happen” on a psych evaluation.
Colorful tubes of light, designed by Elliot Griggs, footlight the stage and hover behind the sheer red curtain at the back of the stage. They flick on and off as The Comedian starts and starts and again starts his set. They glow upbeat and colorful when the energy is high and then shutter to leave the stage lonely. In keeping with the framing of a comedy show, Kat Heath set is minimalist, a comedy club stage amplified.
“Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen” asks the audience to laugh, of course, but also to squirm in discomfort, including that which simmers when you and everyone else laughs at something that is, perhaps, horrid. What begins as a humorous reflection on the trials of modern gay dating evolves into the baser terror of being known—and woven throughout is sex or connection: the good, the bad, and the ugly.
Running Time: One hour and 15 minutes with no intermission.
Content Advisory: Contains sexually explicit language, descriptions of both consensual and unwanted intercourse, depiction of simulated intercourse, descriptions of drug use, and characters managing chronic illness.
“Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen” runs through July 12, 2026 at Studio Theatre, 1501 14th Street NW, Washington, DC 20005. For more information and to purchase tickets, call the Box Office at 202.332.3300, Tuesday – Fridays, 12 -6 pm; Saturdays & Sundays (performance days), 12 pm – curtain, or go online.
