Comedy

It’s an unlikely pairing. Chris Lynam had built a reputation for wild invention and cutting-edge contemporary clowning ever since, as a schoolboy in Zimbabwe, he worked as an assistant in an act that involved sword-swallowing, fire-eating and a bed of nails. He’s performed in comedy clubs and on the streets of Covent Garden, Tokyo, Zurich, New York and a hundred other places. Kate McKenzie studied drama at university and became an actress before joining the legendary 1980s jazz group Denise Black and the Kray Sisters. Feature continues

Lynam and McKenzie first met in 1984 at Pranksters, a stand-up and variety night in a room above a King’s Cross pub. ‘Chris kept trying to show me pictures of his double-decker bus that folded out as a travelling theatre,’ McKenzie recalls. ‘He made me feel very nervous. Then I saw him again at Malcolm Hardee’s ‘Tunnel Palladium’. The Krays had just finished their spot and, as we were leaving, I became transfixed by this guy on stage with stick-up hair and an old mac with string for a belt, who was rolling around on his back and screaming.’ They finally got together in 1986. They’ve been partners, both personally and professionally, for more than 20 years.

Kate describes Chris as ‘one of the funniest people on the planet’. She also allows that ‘his improvisation often looks out of control and scares bookers and promoters to death’. Lynam described McKenzie as ‘one of the most glorious voices and a delightful actress’. He reckons ‘she maybe chose the wrong partner for commercial success’. Mark Hone, manager of the glorious old variety theatre Hoxton Hall, sums it up: ‘Chris is, of course, absolutely bonkers. Kate does yoga. She’s really rather balanced.’

On Thursday they take a big new eccentric variety show to Hoxton Hall for a four-night run. It’s the offspring of the work they’ve done under the banner of The Popcorn Club at the Red Rose in Finsbury Park. This Popcorn Club extravaganza has been created with performers they’ve recruited from auditions. ‘We looked for artists with musical skills, physical skills, circus and dance skills. We’ve tried to use that potential and create something a bit modern. Something that’s exciting and different.’

Lynam and McKenzie take the roles of Eric the Fred and Estelle Etoile. Eric the Fred’s a showman/clown. Etoile is the ringmistress and singer. ‘She has pretensions,’ McKenzie explains. ‘That’s why she’s chosen a name that means star.’ They’d been through a few versions of the show until they felt they had it right. ‘We wanted to play off Chris’s history of lunatic unpredictability within a form that allowed the safeness that the public seems to need. We wanted to throw in the sparkle that Kate’s presence adds. It’s a celebration of variety and cabaret. Hopefully it contains some joy, some wonder and some pain.’

The chemistry between them remains what it always has been. ‘It’s classic relationship stuff,’ they agree. ‘Irreverent chaos versus an attempt at order. Of course, the person whose role it is to keep order desperately wants to be free, like the anarchist partner.’ McKenzie likes to rehearse. Lynam doesn’t. ‘Chris is spontaneous and fearless on stage,’ she says. ‘The only relationship is between him and the audience. I think that’s where he got his reputation for being dangerous.’ That and his tendency in the past to insert fireworks in his rectum. They’re convinced we can expect fireworks from this show. ‘But they’re not connected to any of the body parts of any of the performers.’

The Popcorn Club is at Hoxton Hall from Thursday to Sunday.