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Trygve Wakenshaw and Barnie Duncan: Different Party

 
Paul Fisher Cockburn Review by Paul Fisher Cockburn 4 Published: 9 Aug 2025 Assembly George Square Studios Show Dates: 30 Jul 2025-17 Aug 2025

Grareth [no, that’s not a typo] Krubb (Trygve Wakenshaw, in a suit that’s too small for him) and Dennis Chubb (Barnie Duncan, “the swarthy one”, in a suit that’s too big) are allegedly account consultants for Rucks’s Leather Interiors. However, this pair, happy to hand out their business cards to the audience as we enter, frankly struggle to get anything done, taking office incompetence to new heights of laugh-out-loud physical comedy. Though there’s also the occasional, often surreal, verbal comment thrown in for good measure: “Imagine a room covered in skin” sticks in the mind!

Absolute masters at this kind of physical humour

Wakenshaw and Duncan are absolute masters at this kind of physical humour, not least for managing to get almost a couple of minutes’ worth of physical contortions out of a simple handshake. Yet, while the jokes keep on coming, they’re sensible enough to ensure we have sufficient pauses for breath – otherwise they’d probably lose half their audience to laughter-induced asphyxiation.

The show is recommended for 12-year-olds and older, possibly because there are one or two moments of more risqué adult humour – an unexpected diversion into the lives of pigeons, for example, ends with the briefest moment of “coitus”. And yet many children would surely really enjoy this, not least because there is a genuine child-like feel to both Wakenshaw and Duncan’s characters. Also, the show is grounded in a series of easily understandable games – some taking “management speak” literally – which the pair perform with exceptional skill.

It should be said that this is not a new show: it debuted in Edinburgh the best part of a decade ago, but it still feels remarkably fresh and exciting, with even a sense of some visual and physical improvisation – although I suspect that it’s actually choreographed to within an inch of its life. There are also several running gags – one involving coffee cups – which build throughout the show to the increasing delight of the audience.

Wakenshaw and Duncan are, without doubt, an exceptional double act: indeed, with their tall/short aspect, they have something of a Laurel and Hardy vibe – albeit without the overt physical assaults. Yet it’s also clear that this is, in part, down to their ongoing success as solo performers – each has their own shows in Edinburgh this year, as well as another fully improvised duo performance later in the evening. As Different Party proves, when they do choose to work together, the result is magical.

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The Blurb:

Legendary mime Trygve Wakenshaw and his best pal Barnie Duncan return to Edinburgh with their award-winning show. Amongst the drudgery of the nine-five, the minutiae of office existence are transformed into gleeful slapstick as these two clown and comedy performers create something truly wild. Dialogue is minimal, but jokes are plentiful in this extraordinary celebration of the banal. 'The performance is perfect' (Chortle.co.uk). 'Howlingly funny, exquisitely performed hour of office-set slapstick from two of New Zealand's most exciting comic talents' (Telegraph). Winner – Best Comedy, 2024 New Zealand Comedy Festival.