Humour is one of the cheapest and best forms of medicine for your mind and body. No, not actual prescribed medicine, but when the ability to jest at one’s unfortunate circumstances is lost, what else is left really? A sidesplitting show is coming back to Hamilton to remind us to always laugh.
Two Juliets (Meghan Chalmers and Franny McCabe-Bennett) will perform their show, XOXO: The Relationship show at Yuk Yuk’s on December 4th. The show is what they’ve described as a comedy cabaret, including spoof songs, real-life story monologues, and an understanding of physical comedy that adds that extra something to the laughs.
A feminist comedy, the show doesn’t aim to marginalize or promote stereotypes to pilfer cheap laughs.
“So many guys, too, have to deal with the things we put in the show, it doesn’t matter what gender you are,” said Chalmers.
They want the audience to laugh, but they also want the audience to know what the real absurdity it is that they’re laughing at.
“The nice thing about this show is that we can break character. At one point, when they clapped, I wanted them to understand what they were clapping for, so I said to them, ‘Thank you so much for supporting a feminist song about consent’ and then they kind of laughed, and clearly had a sort of a-ha moment,” said McCabe-Bennett
McCabe-Bennett and Chalmers first performed a shorter 25-minute version of the XOXO show at the 2013 Hamilton Fringe Festival. Their telling of real human stories with flair and great comedic timing had their audiences raving with good reviews.
“At times we’re playing very heightened versions of ourselves, or sometimes it’s totally fake people, but it’s usually us, the story telling is real, true stories we share,” said McCabe-Bennett.
They expanded the show, first for an hour-long performance at last year’s Spring Works Festival in Stratford ON, again at the 2014 Hamilton Fringe Festival, and now they’re bringing the laughs back to Hamilton, where they’re performing the show for a second time at Yuk Yuk’s.
“Yuk Yuk’s is our first real bridging of theatre and comedy, which is our goal because we both have theatre backgrounds,” said McCabe-Bennett.
The two have never really delved into stand-up comedy performances much, but recognize how their show uses a lot of the same methods to produce.
“I feel like a lot of elements [of stand-up] are similar to the way we work and we create,” said Chalmers.
Chalmers and McCabe Bennett met while enrolled in the Theatre Performance program at Humber College. They discovered a special creative chemistry when they were paired up to work together on a second-year performance project.
“We found that a lot of things that were of interest to us were similar. It was fun because it was coming from a lot of different perspectives and backgrounds,” said McCabe-Bennett.
The two embraced their natural creative chemistry and have harnessed their strong working relationship to produce a high quality, hysterical and unique show.
“When we were writing [XOXO], we did want to make a point that it’s not a show that’s like, ‘Want to hear the worst things about dudes?’ Because that’s boring and lazy, and people have heard those stories before,” said McCabe-Bennett
Like countless creative minds before them, the two share the struggle of trying to create and perform in an economy where artistic support is diminishing. The XOXO: Relationship Show comedy cabaret started out as a couple of young women with a spot in a theatre festival, working and writing out of Chalmers’ backyard.
“Something I’ve learned along the way, is that even if it does feel small, you’re still working out of your house, it doesn’t mean it’s any less valid,” said Chalmers, followed by a whole-hearted, “Yep,” From McCabe-Bennett.
Their work is sweet, honest and light-hearted comedy. See it for yourself on December 4th at Yuk Yuk’s in Hamilton. See their amazing trailer below. And for more from these talented ladies, check out their YouTube channel.
