2022 Edinburgh Fringe

Are you ready for Jim and Barb's 50th Wedding Anniversary?

The Anniversary. Image shows from L to R: Daniel Tobias, Clare Bartholomew. Copyright: Andrew Wuttke

You are cordially invited to Jim and Barb's 50th Wedding Anniversary. But don't be fooled, this is no ordinary couple, this is Mr Bean meets The Shining.

Expect the unexpected in this wonderous display of physical comedy and theatre. Performers Daniel Tobias and Clare Bartholomew are bringing a visual feast to the Fringe along with the absurd and joyful energy of their characters Jim and Barb. We caught up with the duo to discuss the relationship between the odd couple and what it's like to perform a hilarious, yet almost completely wordless show.

Are Jim and Barb based on anyone you know in real life?

Clare Bartholomew: They're each a bit of a mishmash of people that we know. For example, I would say that Barb is a bit of a mix of my grandmother who was very particular and extremely organised, and my mother who expected a lot of everyone all the time!

Daniel Tobias: I think Jim is a mixture of all the old blokes I know in my family I wanted to be like when I was younger but now, I find them all pretty avuncular and eccentric.

Clare: Jim is very set in his ways and grumpy.

Daniel: Jim is also like stretched out versions of me. Hopeless, worried and anxious.

Clare: Barb's definitely got my impatience and a penchant for a lot of pre-planning for things to go well on the day!

Who would be better to be stuck on a desert island with - Jim or Barb? Why?

Clare: Barb would be very practical, and I think she'd be trying to find solutions. She'd work out how to survive or attract attention to get off the island. But then Jim would possibly conserve his energy, slow and steady wins the (survival) race. Barb would be building a shelter and putting plastic bags around trees to gather water.

Daniel: Jim would be entirely useless.

Clare: I would go with Barb because she's very practical. But in terms of good company and companionship, maybe Jim.

Daniel: I think Jim would be fine if you just wanted to listen to the cricket. I'm assuming there's a working radio. Jim would give you all the space you want in the world if that's what you want.

Clare: It depends on what kind desert island experience you want!

The Anniversary. Image shows from L to R: Daniel Tobias, Clare Bartholomew. Copyright: Andrew Wuttke

If Jim and Barb went to relationship counselling, would their counsellor be able to keep a straight face?

Daniel: No! Jim and Barb are like real life Muppets. They don't listen to each other. And probably by the time that Barb got to the end of her explanation of anything, Jim had forgotten what the question was. Or he'd fall asleep. I think he would find talking about feelings very foreign.

Clare: Yes. Barb would go off on lots of tangents and Jim would be snoring.

Jim and Barb have a love/hate relationship. Which do you lean towards as a comedy duo?

Clare: I think the beauty of the comedy of the duo is that we walk the fine line between the two. We never end up staying long in hate. There's tension in the relationship between them. But it's held together because there is love.

Daniel: It would be a bit boring to just watch people that hate each other or just love each other. Plus, they're two sides of the same coin.

Clare: There's a lot of frustrations and disappointments but the reason they stayed together is there's some love there, and it's the longevity of love underpinning their relationship.

Daniel: They've been together so long that they don't know how to exist without each other.

Clare: In terms of making comedic situations, setting up high stakes is obviously helpful for comedy.

When a show has no words, how do you communicate feelings?

Daniel: Most of the time, the emotional meaning that we get from people is not from words. It's from actions. Feelings aren't always in the words we say, it's often in how we say them. It can be challenging because we're used to anchoring communication in words but that's only part of it.

Clare: It's all physical expression and action. We also use fight scenes, sections of dance and puppets.

Daniel: You can watch 2 seagulls fighting over a chip and there's plenty of emotion but no words!

Clare: I hope our show is better than 2 seagulls fighting over a chip!

Daniel: Can we use that as a pull quote?

Published: Friday 15th July 2022

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