Rotto link for concept of Paradise
Two of the country's brightest young comics - 2012 Raw Comedy winner Cameron James and 2013 finalist Jared Jekyll - are teaming up to bring their show Paradise to Fringe World.
The pair began their comedy careers three years ago and quickly began improvising together at Sydney's alternative comedy room Phuklub after noticing they had strong chemistry.
"We would be plants in the crowd for each other's sets and we would heckle each other and have fake fights and things like that," James recalls.
James soon recruited Jekyll to be his one-man-band leader for his show Nite Zoo, a largely improvised late-night talk show-themed production that travelled the country in 2013.
It was while in WA for Rottofest that they started to envision their own Paradise Island.
"We explored Rottnest when we were there and took a lot of notes," James says.
"We would walk around the sand dunes and through the bush at night and there are large sequences in the show where we are exploring this island at night and walking through the forest and through lots of spooky landscapes."
The hour-long show incorporates stand-up, sketch comedy and magic, as fictionalised versions of the duo are invited to perform at an island festival but, unlike the home of quokkas, there are macabre forces at work.
"Once we get to the island we realise very quickly that we've been drawn into a conspiracy," James explains.
Classic horror flicks such as The Wicker Man, Children of the Corn and Rosemary's Baby are drawn on in the mystery, while incorporating their musical backgrounds.
"Jared played in a bunch of hip-hop bands, and he raps and beatboxes," James says. "I played several punk and alternative bands around Sydney and Newcastle, so incorporating music was a natural thing in our comedy."
