You may recognise these two from TV. Ellie Taylor as the host of BBC3’s ‘Snog, Marry, Avoid’ and James Redmond from Channel 4’s ‘Hollyoaks’ and BBC1’s ‘Casualty’. What you may not know about them is that they are also two very fine comedians, something that their on-screen appearances might not suggest. Having decided to do a show together, each delivering a half hour of comedy, the duo take to the Espionage basement for an hour of free funnies.
Taylor takes the stage first, lighting up the dark basement with her incredibly bright and bubbly personality. She talks about the pros and cons of being tall, her short lived modelling career, her attraction to bad guys and being part of the boomerang generation, having moved out and back in with her parents several times.
She then invites Redmond onstage who talks about his time on TV and how he doesn’t do it anymore. Now with his new Wikipedia status as a ‘failing’ comedian and TV Z-lister, he talks about being recognised but as the wrong celebrity, being sacked as the SMTV presenter after only nine weeks and the chronicles of his dim-witted yet genius best friend Barry from his hometown in Yorkshire.
The way in which both comedians often use themselves as the brunt of their own jokes is endearing and clever, adding to their comedic flair and natural talent for engaging the audience. Seeing them off screen and in a different environment they seem truly comfortable in is refreshing and the audience are left perhaps not star struck but definitely entertained.
