Q & A with Ellis & Rose

Last Wednesday I had a great time in Bethnal Green watching rising comedy stars Ellis & Rose I laughed a lot more than I thought I would and came to the conclusion that these talented chaps deserve to do well. Find out more about the cheeky pair by visiting www.ellisandrose.com or reading the interview below:

The Rebel magazine: How long have the two of you been working together and putting on nights at Backyard Comedy Club?

Richard Rose: "We met at a party in March 2012, and decided that night (when drunk) to meet up again and attempt to write some sketches. We got together the next week and failed to write a single good sketch. Four years later, we have still failed to write a single good sketch." Gareth Ellis: "We've been running Brainwash Club at The Backyard for about a year and a half now. It isn't lucrative in any way. It will probably end soon."

What would be your dream line-up? Which comedy star would you most like to get? RR: "Dapper Laughs, Roy Chubby Brown, and the most objectionable Wayans Brother."

GE: "I'd like the Chuckle Brothers."

Do you drink before a show to steady your nerves? RR: "No. I drink before a show because I'm an alcoholic." GE: I find that battery acid really gets me going.

How do you cope with all the expenses living in London brings? RR: "I generally drink Prosecco over Champagne. We all have to make sacrifices."

GE: "Richard takes everything I earn. I eat dry bread for every meal."

Do Ellis & Rose love each other like brothers? Do you ever fight?

RR: Have you seen the film 'Dead Ringers', in which Jeremy Irons plays a pair of identical twins gynaecologists? Our relationship is like that. If one of us gets sick, the other falls apart. Also, we're gynaecologists.

GE: "Richard always talks about films no one has ever seen. I hate him when he does that."

Of the two of you - which has been the most lucky in love? RR: "We've both had a few relationships since we started this act, but they all crumbled to dust. Ellis & Rose has outlived all of my romantic partnerships. Make of that what you will." GE: "I'm the more lusty of the pair."

Of the two of you - which has the bigger lust for fame? RR: "If I get famous, I want it to be for something meaningful and impressive, like a mass shooting. Not pratting about on a stage with that goon. I want to be famous for my tragedy, not my comedy." GE: "I want to live in a cave."

What percentage of your material is un p.c.? RR: "We don't think of it in that way; we simply make jokes that we think are funny. The aim is always to be playful and fun, first and foremost. Sometimes we push things into slightly dubious territory, but there's nothing mean-spirited in what we do. Having said that, I do sometimes feel that changing the name of our act from Monty Python's Flying Abortion Clinic was a cowardly move." GE: 82%

Do you have stalkers / obsessive fans RR: "We genuinely did. At the fringe in 2013, there were two Scottish girls, who must have each been about 14, who came to our show every day for about a week. They must have seen us perform roughly ten times, and they would hang around us afterwards, asking very odd questions. At first it was quite sweet, but before long it got kind of creepy. I imagine at the fringe this year they'll turn up on the first day of our show wearing wedding dresses, with twigs and leaves in their hair, each clutching a burlap sack baby. One will have gone blind and the other deaf, and they'll have legally changed their names to Ellisina and Rosie. Ideally I would like to inspire that level of devotion in everyone who sees us perform."

GE: "They were our under-age groupies. Not sexy at all."

Do the two of you write together in an office with one of you typing up what the other says? RR: "We come up with stuff when pissing about together, then I go away and write a script, which he fails to learn and I lose all faith in. It's good to have a system." GE: "I say things and Richard steals them and makes them worse."

What are your favourite things (films, books, cities, artworks) RR: "I love horror films, short books, cheap drinks, salty food and pornography where the people spit on each other (what's this interview for btw?)"

GE: "I DJ on the side. Music is better than comedy. I went into the wrong thing."