Montreal Fringe Feature: Hardcastle and McCormick

George Braithwaite & Morgan O’Shea bring superhuman comedic buddy-cop parody to Fringe Montreal

What's the difference between a cynic and a comedian?  Only one of them really makes you laugh, but both of them share a tool-belt: Satire, mockery, parody, lampooning, persiflage, these are spoofs, these are caricatures, these are instances of  "please laugh while I make fun of something you will recognize instantly, please laugh while I'm a little mean about something pretty universal". All of the above is featured in most comedy and, whether you believe it or not, featured in a lot of tragedy: "Hey, look how shitty things are" is a through-line in both genres (See: Angels in America, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, Buried Child, all a little funny but mostly terrifyingly sad).  Everything is absurd.  So, what makes it funny? It seems anyone can point out an irony but few people can master the craft of elongating an ironic paradigm.  Enter: George Braithwaite and Morgan O'Shea, two comics-come-comedic actors who astound audiences not just with genuine wit but with relentlessly fun delivery.  if you've ever seen them perform before, you will absolutely agree: These two have tsunami-trembling comedic power and their mastery of parody is arriving at the Fringe tonight in their new show Hardcastle and McCormick: Spiceface.

Braithwaite and O'Shea began their careers as stand-up comedians in Montreal.  As a challenge and, probably, from what I can tell, at least a bit of an amusement to themselves, they began writing for theatre.  So far, these two have succeeded twice in the Montreal theatre scene with The Last Hollandaise Sauce (2012) and Failure to Thrive (2013).  With their latest piece, Hardcastle and McCormick: Spiceface, Braithwaite and O'Shea are nodding facetiously towards vintage crime television: "It’s an homage to the 80s/90s buddy cop formula'", Braithwaite explains, "with a touch of Blaxploitation thrown in for colour."

George Braithwaite

Turning the satire inwards, the two also make jests towards themselves.  Lampooning themselves as cops, they pay homage to their literal friend dynamic as they team up to stop a villain that they've based on (and is played by) a close friend of theirs, fellow comedian Kris Dulgar.  As Braithwaite explains, "In many ways Kris is the villain of our real lives, but he’s so funny that we let him get away with murder. So, we thought why not write that into the story?" The three of them seem to have no problem making fun of themselves as they spin their chemistry into a world dedicated to a genre of television they most admire. Nothing it seems, then, is off limits for these guys. They are dedicated to making you laugh.

Morgan O'Shea

Personally, I'm ecstatic that Braithwaite and O'Shea are in the Fringe this year.  Though I have yet to see their theatrical works, I have seen both of them perform stand-up and I have laughed to the point of forgetting that there was a beer in front of me, to the point of holding the arm of the person beside me, to the point of cackling.  Always funny, these men exude comedy and once you're a fan, you can continue to catch both comics after their Fringe run has ended.  Braithwaite is working on an untitled radio play and O'Shea will be performing in The Hard and Slow Tour across the Maritimes with David Heti.  Most fortunately, both comics will be performing in July in a 2014 Zoofest stand-up comedy event entitled The Mount Royal Rumble.  Of course, if you're exceptionally inclined, you can find both of them performing around Montreal at various venues.
Get your first dose of them TONIGHT at Fringe Montreal.

CHECK IT OUT!
Hardcastle and McCormick: Spiceface opens June 13th at Theatre Ste-Catherine
Addicitional runs on June 14-15, 17-18, 21-22
Tickets available now, check here for ticket and booking information.