There is little I need to say about this Camden Fringe show and the guys with their interview being one of the best we have ever done. Their show is a MUST SEE, the guys where ace to take the time and effort to to do this interview and we think your going to like the sound of their show. Expect music, comedy, and some stand up and these Camden Fringe newcomers are also aiming to get their comedy single into their chart , so we think these guys are pretty special!
How have things been going, you all done and dusted for the summer shows or are there still some creases to iron out?
Chris – We are just putting a final polish on the show at the moment.
Thom – It’s all coming together quite nicely.
Graeme – I think, whatever the show, we would be working right to the end in order to give the audience the best show possible.
What has made you want to do the Camden Fringe?
Chris – Thom came to us with the idea one day. We had worked with him before on podcasts and other projects and it seemed like something worth doing.
Thom – I think I spotted it somewhere must have been about a year ago, probably last august when it was last on and read a bit about it, I think the idea of fringe festival where you don’t need to have any acumen or experience you just pay the fee and perform really appealed. So I pitched it to Chris & Graeme last autumn and we got pretty serious when we came to apply in January and even more serious when we had to pay for it come March.
Graeme – I think we have all had, throughout our lives, ambitions or desires to perform and make people laugh and, through this show I think we will.
Do you ever get nervous?
Chris – I think it’s natural to get nervous before a show
Thom – If you speak to any performer I think they would say they get nervous
Chris – Especially in comedy as there is chance this could be a massive victory or something greeted with silence. There is no way to know.
Thom – With theatre it’s easier as the audience is largely passive but with comedy the feedback is immediate.
Chris – And there is no way to know if what you are performing will be well received when you are performing it for friends’ family and to yourself.
Have there been any obstacles in producing this show?
Thom – We are all students so we have had to attend to that.
Graeme – A lot of it is just logistical issues of being distant away from each other as such finding it harder to communicate, but then the nuggets we worked on our own have been very productive to group as a whole..
Chris – Thanks.
Graeme – It’s alright.
What was the best feedback you got from your audience or the press?
Thom – It may seem stupid but when I saw the article in the Londonist where we were mentioned in their Camden Fringe preview I felt quite pleased, because no one knows us I really felt scared we would be over looked. I think for a sizeable blog to actually look at all the shows and to pick out ours as something worthwhile is a great thing.
Graeme – Hopefully people will come to the show with an open mind and chance an arm on us.
What was the Best and Worst shows you’ve played?
Graeme – I don’t think I’ve ever had a bad experience on stage, I tend to not perform anything which I don’t have faith in and amuses myself and, as such, whatever happens if the audience doesn’t care at least I’ve had a good time on stage.
Thom – Seems fair enough.
What can people expect?
Thom – I don’t think any one else has the variety of stand up sketches and songs this year, it’s basically been that from day one I wanted to do so many things with this show.
Graeme – As not limiting the show to one tradition or another.
Thom – See, the great thing about this method is that sketches are so hit an miss you like some, you may like others less but by keeping the pace up we can hopefully hit more than we miss.
Graeme – Humour is such a subjective thing but this show really accepts that. I mean in a way the show harks back to variety shows almost a vaudeville sensibility .
Chris – I think the subject matter is closer to vaudeville than Saturday night entertainment.
Graeme – Like a ritaline-addled stepchild of Morecombe and Wise.
Thom – That’s a good way of putting it. I think they can expect a really lively and energetic show. I have been saying this allot but most fringe shows it is assumed that it’s better if it’s just two guys talking around a table or a hour long monologue or whatever.
Graeme – There is good comedy to be had in that but I think we believe giving the audience all we got and that means all singing, all dancing quite literally.
Any new tricks up your sleeves?
Thom – Since the show is all-new we have very long sleeves to contain all our ‘new tricks’. But seriously, the way we’re pacing the show is quite something as in amongst all of our sketches are these big set pieces. Some are songs, some are anarchic stand-up, we want the audience to leave with some particular great moments to remember.
Who has been an inspiration to you?
Chris – We‘ve got lots of different inspirations.
Thom – I’m going to have to say, for sketches, Fry and Laurie. It was a mainstream show but also surreal and quite surreal and witty at the same time. And Flight of the Conchords musically, even as clichéd as it sounds, as they are the masters of modern comedy songwriting.
Chris– For me stand up comedians like Richard Pryor and Eddie izzard have always been an inspiration, as well as more political acerbic satirists like Jon Stewart and Bill Hicks.
Graeme – I have a personal love of the work of Chris Morris especially for his construction of language. I think he’s got a great ear for surrealist language. Recently I got into Tim and Eric, although I can’t say Tim and Eric have come through too much in the show, but the thing with them is that it’s nice to watch their episodes and realise that comedy can be anything you want it to be, often their humour is hidden beneath 20 layers of Dadaist and performance art techniques. It’s hard to explain to anyone why it’s so funny, it seems to exist on a subconscious level half the time.
Thom – I think we’ve all had a good comedy in-take from an early age.
Graeme – I think python is our childhood.
Chris – Yeah certainly.
What advice have you been given, and what advice would you give someone bringing a show to Camden Fringe?
Graeme – I have always heard to keep to it short in terms of sketch and joke length I think that is inherent to the nature of the Camden Cringe.
Thom – Basically if you don’t like this sketch then don’t worry in a minute there will be another one.
Chris– Although there are plenty of Pinter style awkward pauses.
Graeme – Of course.
Thom – Probably the best advice we could give people is to just do what you want to do.
Graeme – At the end of the day people will come see the show. If you’re lucky some of them may remember you, but it will be you who in ten years will look back at this so if you do something you fully enjoyed you can sleep soundly knowing if no one really cared at least I had a fun time hanging out with my friends making a comedy show.
Thom – And that’s the best any one can hope for.
