The multi-award nominated musical-activist-comedians Jonny and The Baptists will be taking to our outdoor stage later this month, to perform their brand-new show Dance Like It Never Happened. We caught up with Jonny and Paddy to find out what we can expect from their show and how even the sighting of an ''unusually big duck'' can provide musical inspiration!

How would you describe your style of comedy to someone who hasn’t watched one of your shows?

We write and perform lots of very silly, funny, satirical songs, some of them are very personal and some of them are just downright stupid. But they’re always heartfelt and loving and will make you laugh and (hopefully) come out feeling better about the world. In between the songs, we tell stories and jokes and sort of bicker like an old married couple. A friendly critic once said we were like “Flanders and Swann, if they’d slept in a skip”.

Tell us about your new show, Dance Like It Never Happened. What can the audience expect?

It’s a mixture of lots of new songs about the last eighteen months and some updated versions of our favourites from the last ten years of performing together. We talk and sing about grief and loss, and the fallout of the lockdowns and the pandemic - but in a joyful, hopeful and optimistic way. More than anything else, it’s just so wonderful to be back performing in front of a live crowd again, and sharing something unique and special with the room.

Where do you get the inspiration for your songs?

It varies wildly. Sometimes songs can take months, even years to get right, working them out through extensive road-testing, researching, interviewing people and constant redrafting. Sometimes you just see an unusually big duck and then the rest sort of writes itself.

If you could choose to perform in any location, where would it be and why?

Obviously, Farnham. Specifically at the Farnham Maltings. In an ideal world we’d do it on the fourteenth of August. Hypothetically if we weren’t allowed to include Farnham (as it’s always everyone’s go-to answer) we’d pick the Lake of Stars festival in Malawi. Big lake, very beautiful, no light pollution - although I don’t know how many fans we have out there.

Book tickets for Jonny and The Baptists: Dance Like It Never Happened on Sat 14 August at 7.30pm, here.