Interview with Harriet Braine
Interview with Paul G Raymond and Luke Manning
CB: How long have you been gigging in comedy?
IC: As In Cahoots, we’ve been gigging since February 2012. We’ve been doing improvised comedy since the end of 2011, when our improv troupe, Shoot From The Hip, got a weekly residency at The Top Secret Comedy Club in Covent Garden. It’s still running every Tuesday.
CB: How would you describe your comedy?
IC: When we’re flyering strangers, or writing copy, we tend to go for things like ‘riotous’ and ‘inventive’, because sometimes we’re loud and often we subvert things.
CB: Which comedians influence your comedy?
IC: American sketch and improvisation is hugely influential, in particular the sketch and improv of UCB. Luke really likes Jim Carrey.
CB: Did you always want to go into comedy?
IC: Not always. We both found it through acting, then improvising – both still big aspirations for us.
CB: How do you go about writing your material?
IC: We chat about stuff in coffee shops with our laptops out and write down the things that make us laugh. Then we usually improvise around the idea in a grubby rehearsal space.
CB: Do you gig as a comedy performer full time or is it more of a part-time hobby? If so, do you find that your main job influences your material?
IC: It’s currently very much a full time hobby, supplemented by part time undertakings. Paul is a glorified spellchecker and Luke is carving a niche in the hospitality industry as a ‘barman’, a term he coined.
CB: What do you find the most enjoyable and frustrating parts of the comedy circuit?
IC: The most enjoyable parts are performing, meeting other acts and finding out what makes people laugh. The only really frustrating part of the circuit is when there is no actual audience.
CB: What’s your favourite type of audience to perform to?
Guardian readers.
CB: Have you been heckled a lot since you’ve started gigging? Do you enjoy being heckled? What’s the best heckle you’ve had?
IC: We were performing a sketch where a son calls for his dad. One of our actual dads was in the crowd and responded, getting a bigger laugh than anything we had all night. Ultimate heckle.
CB: What advice would you give to new acts thinking of starting out in comedy?
IC: Perform lots, and write lots, anywhere and everywhere.
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