Scary Strangers is the legendary lovechild of Sydney comedy thirst traps Ru Halwala and Tom Stevenson!

We have produced and performed in star-studded, sell-out shows all over Australia, including The STEAM Room Science Comedy Experience ft. Dr Karl, Big Cat Club Improv Comedy Extravaganza, and Are You Havin’ A Laugh?! Our shows are know for their exceptional production values, immaculate vibes, and diverse casts.

Every Scary Strangers performance is comedic cocktail of highbrow wit and lowbrow filth, you never know what you’re going to get, but trust that it’ll get you where you need to go. Sketch, stand up, improv, clowning, and musical comedy - we do it all baby!

You may have seen us cavorting on some of Australia’s hottest stages, including Splendour in the Grass, Malthouse Theatre, Australian Museum, Factory Theatre, Enmore Theatre, Sydney Comedy Store, Brisbane Powerhouse, Queensland Museum, and Improv Theatre Sydney.

We don’t take ourselves too seriously, and we don’t expect you too either. We love comedy. You love comedy. So let’s stop teasing each other, and make it happen.

when we’re not performing, our artist studio in Chippendale hosts workshops, rehearsals, podcasts, and local celebrity house-cats Pebbles and Whoopi! It is widely considered (by us) to be the epicentre of good taste, kindness, and creativity in Sydney.

Ru is a Sri Lankan princess, or at least she acts like it. When she’s not in the Scary Strangers studio working on her latest artistic pursuits (which you can purchase via the ‘Shop’ page on our website), she galavants around town performing stand up, improv, sketch comedy and drag.

She has performed at iconic venues across NSW including Comedy Store, Factory Theatre, Newcastle Comedy Club, Vanguard and The Bearded Tit to name a few. Ru is also part of award-winning improv troupes ASMR (ITS Smackdown Champions 2021, Improv Comedy Cagefight 2022) and Tetronimo (Improv Comedy Cagefight 2022).

Ru teaches improv as part of the illustrious faculties at Improv Theatre Sydney and Pymble Ladies College, and has worked as a sketch comedy consultant for the 2022 PoC Revue. Ru has dual Bachelors in Business (Public Relations) and Fine Arts (Visual and Interactive Design) from QUT, as well as an Associate Diploma in Speech and Drama from IMEB.

Ru is the Creative Director of Scary Strangers, which she co-produces alongside her beloved partner, Tom Stevenson, and she is consequently “living the dream”.

Between fleeting bursts of megalomaniacal visions of future success and crippling self-doubt, Tom writes jokes about his observations and experiences.

He has performed at Melbourne International Comedy Festival, Sydney Comedy Festival, and Brisbane Comedy Festival. Tom is a regular at stand up and improv comedy clubs across Sydney and has also performed in India.

Prior to making the move into comedy Tom studied Musical Theatre at Federation University (Sydney) and Arts and Law at Macquarie University. He is a graduate of Improv Theatre Sydney’s esteemed improvised theatre program, where he has performed as part of legendary ITS House Teams, Honeytrap and Call Your Mother, and he also regularly performs as part of Sydney’s raunchiest independent improv comedy troupe Daniel Craig.

When he’s not performing Tom teaches acting as part of the SCECGS Redlands Drama Department, and is Head of Creative Arts at St Andrew’s College, Sydney University.