By Colin Flaherty
Chris and Sean have come ashore to regale us with tall tales and true from the sea. They self identify as Nuts (and we LOVE Nuts!) so anything can happen.
You know you’re in safe hands when Chris Locke and Sean Cullen are creating improvised mayhem. Cullen has been performing since the 80s, since rising to fame with Canadian trio Corky & The Juicepigs, and is a legend of the impro scene. Locke is no slouch, keeping up with every non sequitur despite feeling under the weather this evening.
There is more to this performance than on the spot banter. With Locke on bongos and Cullen on guitar, this crazy duo conjure up bespoke musical numbers. Obviously sea shanties feature with tunes about nautical adventures but we also hear gentle serenades directed to certain “ladies” back on land as well as those in the ocean.
It usually takes a while for an audience to get on this wacky pair’s wavelength and on this particular night, the crowd was a little timid. Prompts for questions were met with some baffled silence but the boys ploughed on regardless, going off on odd tangents that produced plenty of weird and wonderful lines. They regularly cracked each other up which was infectious nonetheless.
This is improvised madness at its finest. You may not dig every single thing and a hell of a lot will not make logical sense in the slightest, but you will feast on enough whimsy to sate your thirst and will no doubt, come to love the cut of their jib.
Chris and Seán Are Two Sailors Who Are Nuts is on at Gilded Balloon Patter House until August 26
https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/chris-and-sean-are-two-sailors-who-are-nuts