ENGLISH performers Nicola Wilkinson and Claire Ford are excited, and also a little concerned, about bringing their show The Kagools: Dressed for the British Summer to Australia for the first time.
The trepidation has nothing to do with how audiences will react but all to do with how their own bodies will respond to wearing their trademark kagools, a lightweight nylon raincoat, in the February Fringe World heat.
“We’re asking everyone what the best source of cooling could be for us,” Wilkinson said.
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READ NOW“So far we’ve decided to go for wet clothes, ice packs and blind faith.”
The pair first met at drama school and teamed up in 2011, through their mutual love of comedic characters, to work on sketch shows.
“The Kagools were actually one of the first ideas we ever came up with,” Ford said.
“They never really had named identities, and we didn’t even know if they were human, so we just called them The Kagools and it stuck.
“We’re physical and animated; we don’t speak but our facial expressions tell a whole story.”
Despite the strange but friendly characters being silent, the physical comedy show is anything but, and is described as a sensory overload of music, film and good-natured audience interaction.
“The comedy is universal,” Wilkinson said.
“Whilst the show was created with adults in mind, it’s been a lovely by-product that children enjoy it too; a few of the jokes go over their heads, but there’s nothing offensive.
“Emotion is a common thread amongst all nationalities and ages, and that’s what The Kagools communicate with. It’s something everyone can enjoy.”
THE ESSENTIALS
What: The Kagools: Dressed for the British Summer
Where: Casa Mondo, The Pleasure Garden, Northbridge
When: February 4 to 13
Tickets: www.fringeworld.com.au