Demon barbers in West End premier to help cancer appeal

WHEN the last customer leaves a top traditional barber’s shop in central London, all hell breaks loose. There’s trouble with a capital ‘T’.

Sanity departs as three aspiring actors use the shop – Pall Mall Barbers in Whitcomb Street – as the setting for a series of hair-raising comedy sketches.

The three are Rik Warren, Guy Hescott and Charlotte Gascoyne and they form the team ‘Paul Mal Barbara’.

The idea is the brainchild of shop owner 36-year-old barber Richard Marshall and 31-year-old Guy, who has the dual role of actor/writer.

Richard said:

I wondered what customers would think if a traditional barber shop such as ours with a history going back to 1896, suddenly became the scene of crazy, manic, mayhem.  It appealed to my sense of humour, and the idea just developed from there.

We are having great fun producing the bizarre sketches and we hope they give people a much needed laugh in these troubled times.

And on November 30th they will take to the stage of The Arts Theatre, near the West End’s Leicester Square, as the main part of a Movember Comedy Gala Night.

The show is in support of the Movember charity, which provides funds and awareness of men’s health, especially prostate and testicular cancer.

During November each year, the charity encourages people to talk about the often-ignored men’s issues by running a ‘changing the face of men’s health’ campaign. And they encourage clean-shaven men to grow moustaches for the month.

Guy, who also helps write the sketches, said:

As our zany comedy series is based on barbers, the charity Movember is the obvious one for us to support, especially during the month of November.

He added:

We are also very fortunate in having BAFTA award-winning writer Alan Hescott on our team.

The show will include stand-up comedy led by actor, ventriloquist and comedienne Nina Conti. Nina, born in Hampstead, travels the world with her puppet sidekicks, a depressed monkey named Monk and granny, an elderly Scotswoman.

Recently the comedy team’s antics created interest in the USA including an interview on a Detroit radio show. Also the first series of three sketches has already been featured on YouTube.

They are hoping the madcap barbers will end up as a successful TV series similar to the wacky comedy hits Faulty Towers and Father Ted.

The sketches

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