COMEDY
What: James & Jamesy鈥檚 O Christmas Tea
Where: Royal Theatre
When: Sunday, 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Tickets: $34.75 ($24.75 for students) in聽person at the Royal Theatre box office, by phone at 250-386-6121, or online at
Note: O Christmas Tea is also scheduled for tonight at Duncan鈥檚 Cowichan Theatre and Dec. 21 at Nanaimo鈥檚 Port Theatre
Last year, Vancouver performers Alastair Knowles and Aaron Malkin unveiled James & Jamesy鈥檚 O聽Christmas Tea 鈥� their wacky British comedy 鈥� for local audiences, with three shows at the McPherson Playhouse. It was a successful debut from two relatively untested performers.
With another year of seasoning under their belts, the two have scheduled an expanded Vancouver Island run for O Christmas Tea, with stops in Courtenay, Campbell River, Duncan, Nanaimo and Victoria over the next week. The absurdist comedy has officially taken off for Knowles and Malkin, who have toured into the U.S. and the U.K.聽of late.
Not every market falls for the charm of James and Jamesy, however. Malkin and Knowles were in Scotland over the summer, where they performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival to a less-than-stellar response. 鈥淚t was a fascinating experience performing British characters in the U.K., because in sa国际传媒, we have this idea of: 鈥極h, those quirky Brits!鈥� 鈥� Knowles said.
鈥淚n the U.K., our show isn鈥檛 about this quirky British pair, it鈥檚聽just two quirky people. The British-isms were normalized. It聽was a moot point.鈥�
The duo is happy to have O聽Christmas Tea back on home turf in sa国际传媒 The more they tour, the聽more they realize how few cities on their itinerary produce a聽response comparable to that which O Christmas Tea receives in聽Victoria.
鈥淚t鈥檚 the British-isms that Victoria latched onto,鈥� Knowles said. 鈥淲hen we sang God Save the Queen in Victoria [last year], many in the audience stood for what was their national anthem. That doesn鈥檛 happen when we鈥檙e in Florida.鈥�
O Christmas Tea came about almost by accident, during an improvisational rehearsal, Knowles said. He came up with the idea of two Brits having tea; the rest developed on the fly. 鈥淚t all started as an improvisation. On that impulse, the character I聽created had a British accent, so聽when Aaron 鈥� as James 鈥� entered the stage, he also had an聽English accent.鈥�
The two friends mined their disparate backgrounds and personalities for material, but didn鈥檛 have to dig very deep: Knowles鈥檚 obsessive-compulsive Jamesy and Malkin鈥檚 prim and proper James are rooted in reality. 鈥淭he Jamesy character is peculiar and eccentric, and the James character is more of an everyday person. James is civilized, and tries to hold onto this properness that is a British tea party in the face of聽absurdity and swelling imagination.鈥�
The play, wherein the characters 鈥渄rink tea and go on adventures of the imagination,鈥� according to Malkin, quickly devolves from propriety into absurdity. It鈥檚 when their world begins to flood with tea that the production really gathers steam, prompting feats of聽physical comedy so impressive, they earned the Canadian Comedy Award for best live ensemble in 2016.
The bond between Malkin and Knowles has been sharpened to a fine point over the course of five years and 500 performances of two-person projects featuring the James and Jamesy characters.
In some ways, theirs is an unlikely collaboration: Malkin, who has a biology degree, worked in a bio tech firm in Sweden and spent time teaching in Colombia before switching to visual effects for film.
鈥淔or myself, this is a third career,鈥� Malkin said. 鈥淚 always had an interest in performing growing up, but never felt the support of my environment to pursue it. Once I was an adult, and had sufficient confidence and resolve, that鈥檚 when it began for me. I started saying yes to any opportunity to perform.鈥�
Knowles has a degree in business, so he was no better prepared for life as a travelling performer. 鈥淲e both had other careers. Performing was a just a hobby.鈥�