Q&A with Ted Milligan and James Trickey behind A Burger and a Pint

Having met at university and worked together for years, how has your dynamic evolved as performers?

James: Well when we first met I hated Ted.Ted: It’s true.James: So I guess a big dynamic change is I can now stomach his company.Ted: But we have also gotten so much tighter since our first gig. I feel like our editing is so much more on it. We used to really pad stuff out with loads of unnecessary faff and just keep going on and on and almost labour a point to total death and…James: Agreed. 

Winning the Leicester Square Sketch Off was a huge moment. Did that change your confidence as a duo?

Ted: It definitely made us stop and think about taking this super seriously. It made us see the duo as something that could be successful instead of just a laugh. James: Yeah, it was the best moment of Ted’s life.Ted: Sadly yes.

James: But it meant we just doubled down. We got booked for loads of stuff after that and people started talking to us like we were proper people.

Ted: Yes, no-one gave a tiddly toss about us and then we won that and people genuinely would say an unprompted “hi” in Soho Theatre. You know who you are.

A lot of sketch duos rely on opposites. What do each of you bring that complements the other?

James: I bring a “learn my lines” element that compliments Ted’s “Nah, I’ll just remember it from one read through” energy.Ted: And I bring a “comes up with ideas” element to James “Yeah that sounds good” energy.

James: Performance wise, I think we are two sides of the same coin. We’re pretty good at highlighting whichever absurdity the other is focusing on at any one time.

Ted: For instance, my lean frame helps exaggerate James’ huge butt.

Have there been sketches that made each other laugh so much they became impossible to perform seriously?

Ted: No.

James: We’re professionals for God’s sake.

Ted: There have however been plenty of sketches that have been impossible to perform because logistically we forgot to sort the tech out.

James: There are also a lot of sketches that we really sincerely enjoyed in concept and in writing, but were quickly rejected by actual audiences.

Who usually makes the other laugh first?

Ted: James.James: Yeah, to be fair, Ted is terrible at corpsing and also does this stupid thing where sometimes he’ll laugh at a line we’ve written together and go “oh that is funny” on stage. Like, I know that’s why we wrote it.Ted: Yeah I’m not very good at hiding my emotions. James: I would say Ted is almost definitely first to make me laugh in real life though. When we went to see Six: The Musical, the second the show started he sighed incredibly loudly and I had to stifle my glee. Ted: I hated the opening.James: You really got into it though!Ted: Oh yeah by the end I was all in.James: We love that musical now, it’s the only thing that comes up in our shared spotify playlist.Both: We're one of a kindNo categoryToo many yearsLost in his storyWe're free to takeOur crowning gloryFor five more minutesWe're SIX!