Interview: The Noise Next Door (Anson Rooms, July 6)

The ace sketch and improv comedy quartet The Noise Next Door are back in Bristol on July 6, unveiling not one but two brand new shows – and catering to all ages into the bargain.

Eight time sell-out veterans of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Noise Next Door take audience suggestions and transform them into fantastically funny scenes and songs in the blink of an eye with a perfect blend of ludicrous characters, witty one-liners, epic stories, and explosive physicality.

They pitch up at the Anson Rooms at the University of Bristol Union with two shows: REMIX!!!, their new adult number, in the evening and, before that, their shiny new kids’ adventure, The Noise Next Door At Sea.

“Join our crazy crew for an adventure on the high seas as we need your help to chase down the fearsome Captain Bloodbeard. The Noise Next Door will take your suggestions and transform them into jaw-dropping scenes and mind-blowing songs in the blink of an eye that are equal parts swash-buckling and side-splitting. With mermaids, magic, sea-shanties and swords, this anarchic afternoon with the quickest wits in comedy is one you’ll treasure forever.”

Here are the boys from the Noise to tell us more.

Tell us about the two new shows, REMIX!!! and TNND At Sea.
First of all BOTH shows are improvised comedy shows! We take audience suggestions and turn them into scenes, songs and jokes in the blink of an eye. But that’s about where the similarity ends…

REMIX!!! is our adult touring show this year. It’s our most creative, cutting edge and hilarious show yet. We’ve developed new songs, new games and we’re exploring a totally new avenue for improv for us – this year we’ve included ‘solos’ in the show. We love the show and so far audiences seem to have really been enjoying it.

… At Sea is a family-friendly affair. It’s a pirate-themed adventure where audience suggestions mould and change the world as we chase after the legendary pirate Captain Bloodbeard. Kids always love the show, but we try and make sure that parents are having a great time too… we aim a few jokes over the kids’ heads to keep everyone giggling.

The Noise Next Door’s July 6 double bill at the Anson Rooms includes their new family-friendly pirate adventure, ‘The Noise Next Door At Sea’

Is … At Sea your first kids’ show? 

It’s our first touring kids’ show but we have been performing family friendly shows up at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival for years. We’ve been to space, to a fantasy kingdom… This year we’re on the high seas!

With our family-friendly, shows we like to include a strong setting. It means we can build a set and wear costumes and come up with some pretty elaborate set pieces… Just wait until you meet our beautiful mermaid! It keeps the kids engaged and it just means that the show is another level of different to our adult shows. Quite a few people come to both!

I think you’ve had one or two lineup changes over the years… tell us briefly about who’s gone (and where), and who’s arrived….
We have indeed! We started out as a five-man team straight out of university and stayed that way for 7 years. The first to head off was Tom Houghton who wanted to explore life as a solo act and is now a very successful stand-up comedian in his own right. Down to four… But trips in our tiny car became suddenly much more comfortable!

A few years later Matt decided he needed to scratch his itch to work behind the scenes in film and television and went off to point cameras at people. We knew we wanted to remain as a four-piece so we went searching for someone to fill Matt’s place… We didn’t have to look far. Robin was a member of the brilliant slapstick trio The Three Half Pints who were moving on to try separate things. We’d known the guys for years – they actually went to the same university as us, just a few years later, and we had gigged with them on several occasions. We asked Robin if he wanted to join and a few months later we were back up to four.

The Noise Next Door: l-r Robin Hatcher, Tom Livingstone, Matt Grant, Sam Pacelli

At the beginning of last year Charlie had a baby girl. And that, as these things tend to do, changed everything. Charlie wanted to spend more time at home with his new family and decided to step away from the limelight. Luckily at that exact same time Matt (yes, the same Matt from earlier) was starting to miss the limelight. And so came back to the company after a year away – he did some awesome things with his year off but basically just missed people clapping when he finished work.

Tom and Sam have been in from the beginning and don’t plan on going anywhere! So that’s where we are today. Complicated, isn’t it?

Your skills of lightning-quick improv are pretty awesome. How DO you manage that – to create, say, a boyband song about an audience member within seconds, and for all four of you to be in complete sync? Is that like a muscle you exercise? Do you completely know and understand what each other will do?
Thanks! How do we do it? You are actually very close with your ‘muscle’ suggestion!

For obvious reasons you can’t ‘rehearse’ improv. Audiences are unpredictable and unique. Trying to plan for what people might say would be ridiculous and would take all the fun and spontaneity out of it.

It’s a lot more like ‘training’. You have to exercise your brain to make it process information very quickly. You have to learn to perform one thing while your brain is coming up with the next. It’s comparable, I suppose, to training for a sport. Your best bet is to learn how to shoot, how to defend, get fitter and faster, build up your bond with your team mates. You don’t know whats going to happen in the match – but you’ve given yourself the tools to work with.

That bond with your team mates is particularly important. We know each other incredibly well. We work together every day. We don’t always know EXACTLY what each other is about to do but we probably have a pretty good general idea. We know the sort of thing we’ll be thinking and what we are all best at doing. This means we can set each other up and work together to tell a joke. This is the stuff that makes it look ‘telepathic’.

The Noise Next Door At Sea July 6, Anson Rooms, 2.30pm, £13. 90 mins. For more info, visit www.bristolsu.org.uk/groups/bristol-su-live/events/the-noise-next-door-at-sea

The Noise Next Door: REMIX!!! July 6, Anson Rooms, 7.30pm, £17. For more info, visit www.bristolsu.org.uk/groups/bristol-su-live/events/the-noise-next-door-remix

Special offer tickets are available for both shows until Sunday, June 30. Visit links above for details.

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