Five time sell-out veterans of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and one of the country's most sought after comedy club headliners, Noise Next Door, have never undertaken a full UK before. But all that is set to change as the university chums turned comedy geniuses embark on a nationwide trail. With Yorkshire audiences being treated to not just one, but two Noise Next Door performances, The Yorkshire Times decided to catch up with the guys best celebrated for their ludicrous characters, witty one-liners and musical extravagance.



To quote Cilla Black, what's your name and where do you come from?

We are The Noise Next Door and we're from Brighton.

What made you become an improvised comedy troupe?

We formed an improv comedy troupe at university mainly as a bit of extracurricular fun. We performed as part of that group for our four years at The University of Kent and then upon graduation decided we'd give it a go professionally. It was either that or get real jobs.

Why The Noise Next Door?

We are named in honour of our long suffering neighbours at university. They were a lovely middle aged couple who complained about our late night creative sessions in the most polite way imaginable. They stillcome and see shows when we are in the area!

Your rep as a comedy troupe is rapidly on the rise - what is the key to comedy?

Timing. Timing is everything. We recommend a Rolex.

Which comedians inspire your act?

Originally of course we were incredibly inspired by Who's Line Is It Anyway. We probably wouldn't know what improv comedy was without it! Individually we find our comedy heroes across a broad spectrum: Billy Connolly, Monty Python, Jim Carrey, Andy Kaufman, Tim Minchin... The list goes on.

Tell us a little bit about the show...

It's fun. We strive to make our show as enjoyable as possible. There's no agenda, there's no hidden message. It's just five guys taking audience suggestions and turning them into scenes and songs to make people laugh.

Given that success is already secured, what advice do you offer to comedy upstarts?

There is no substitute for stage time. Get yourself in front of an audience and behind a mic as often as you can. There are open mic shows all over the country. Go and get involved immediately.

What is your funniest experience performing?

Charlie accidently caught his hair on fire whilst playing the decapitated head of Genghis Khan. It took him about 20 seconds to realise that the people screaming "You're on fire!" weren't
complimenting his improv. Good times.

How do you cope with a nightmare audience?

We indulge them! We like to think we can deal with most audiences. We've gigged for drunken squaddies, giggly school children and uppity corporate bigwigs... We've enjoyed them all. Because what we do is always based on the audience, it means we can find their level and really make it about them.

What is your dream audience?

Our DREAM audience? ... Sexy robot cheerleaders.

Where in the UK have you found the best humour?

Every part of the country has a really unique sense of humour. Everywhere has its merits but if we had to plump for one area we'd have to pick Cardiff. The Welsh really know how to laugh at themselves, but then there's quite a lot to laugh at.

What is the funniest region?

Yorkshire, of course!

And dare I say it, the most serious?

Lancashire. We are basically trying to restart the War of the Roses. Who's up for it?

Noise Next Door will be performing at The Alhambra in Bradford on 18th May and Harrogate Theatre in Harrogate on 1st June.

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