Following its 2026 Edinburgh Fringe run, where it was recommended by The Times, Diary of a Mad Man comes to London after receiving ★★★★★ from The Real Chrisparkle and ★★★★ from Corr Blimey.
“A riveting performance by Mark McAuley; unsettling, quirky, humorous and disturbing – not to be missed.” – The Real Chrisparkle
Diary of a Mad Man is a darkly comic one-man drama about a lonely corporate worker whose desperate need to be seen begins to distort his reality. Adapted from Nikolai Gogol’s classic short story and relocated to contemporary Ireland, the play follows a man struggling with status, isolation and professional failure. As humiliation turns to grievance, he retreats online, where attention and validation begin to reward an increasingly distorted view of the world. His fixation on his CEO’s daughter deepens, prejudice takes root, and his growing online following gives him something he has never had before: an audience. As reality fractures, he constructs a world in which every humiliation has an explanation and every grievance is justified.
Blending dark comedy, physical performance, and multimedia, Diary of a Mad Man asks a disturbingly contemporary question: what happens when someone losing their grip on reality finds a world willing to validate it? Gogol’s story is reimagined for an age of social media, status anxiety, online echo chambers and the desperate need to be seen.
Performed & Directed by Mark McAuley
Written & Adapted by Derek Masterson
Lighting, AV & Sound Design by Iris Liange
Content warnings: Contains distressing or potentially triggering themes. Strong language/swearing.
https://www.markmcauley.com/diaryofamadman
https://www.instagram.com/santaponza/
Ticket Information
Performance Dates: Tues 24th ~ Sat 28th November 2026
Performance Time: 7.30pm / 2.30pm / 7pm
Run Time: 60 mins (no interval)
Tickets: £20 / £17 (includes booking fee)
Limited Early Bird Tickets £15 Available Until 31st October