Last Updated on January 6, 2023
How to relive a jaded January.
I had post-Christmas grief. So, I’m excited to be booked to see Norris & Parker at London’s Soho Theater next week. Sounds like the kind of drug I need to get me out of the winter whines. Comedy double act with only four London dates for ‘Sirens’ (first seen at the Edinburgh Festival, this was their fifth show, with original new songs by Huge Davies.
The history of Norris & Parker’s 12-year friendship stands out, taking the audience back in time to when they first met. Katie & Sinead actually met at the Manchester Met School of Theater in 2009, bound together by the same birthday (February 26), the same flat, and the same attraction to Kate Bush. They are inspired by Julia Davis, Brass Eye, The League of Gentleman, Twin Peaks and Corrie.
The new show features a host of quirky characters, sketches and songs including the mini-drama Norris, a two-act coastal thrillerlighthouse, inspired by Hitchcock, Gilbert & Sullivan and The Lighthouse (film). Written in lockdown delirium, the play reflects Norris’ mental state at the time as well as his profound lack of respect for Parker as an actress; forcing her to play the sexy squid and half pig, candid Veronica Ham, who arrives in Kent looking for her missing sister. Along the way, we meet local irritable Gillian McKeith, owner of The Hag’s Bed B&B, who specializes in backstreet abortions, and collapses uncontrollably while having questionable hallucinations. We’re also introduced to Sir Joncey Emperor of Dover, a war veteran locked up in room 26, who is passionate about his family’s legacy.
Hailed as one of Britain’s most compelling sketch and character performers, Katie and Sinead promise to lure you into the web of their dark and surreal comedy like two black widows in Lycra with ‘Sirens’ named after Greek mythological creatures, half bird and half women who lured sailors to ruin with the sweetness of their songs.
Their last show of 2018, Burn the Witch, sold out at the Pleasance Courtyard Festival Edinburgh. It later sold out at the Soho Theater and is available for streaming on “Next Up.” Their 2016 show, See you at The Gallowsalso enjoyed a hot sale at The Pleasance Courtyard.
Katie is a comedian, actress, singer and voice regular on Newsjack & The Now Show (BBC Radio 4). Sinead is a comedian, actress and writer. Most recently, he wrote for and appeared on Huge Davies’ new Channel 4 show, ‘The Artists’, a new sitcom about a group of deluded street performers who mistakenly think they are artistic pioneers.
Find out more about Sirens at the Soho Theater and book while you can
Soho Theatre
21 Dean Street, London W1D 3NE
WEDNESDAY 11th – SATURDAY 14th JANUARY 2023 @ 10 p.m
