F A C I L I T A T O R S O F M I R T H Artist biography Edward Easton Playing age: 20-35 Height: 6 2 Weight: 12 st Hair color: Brown Eye colour: Blue Build average: Slim Appearance: White Native Accent: Cheshire Accents:American general, northern Irish, Glaswegian, Scottish general, RP, Liverpudlian, Birmingham, Manchester and Cockney Experienced in: Stand up, Improvisation, Acting in Film and Theatre, Highly skilled in football, basketball, squash and guitar, skilled in cricket, tennis & horse riding, Plays the Guitar & Drums Driving License: Full and clean Quirkily different...with an engagingly casual approach despite the weirdness of some of his revelations Chortle An effortless and effervescent comedic actor and improviser, Ed Easton brings a unique voice to his acting and stand-up alike. Ed is also a prolific and talented writer, very much tipped by the industry as one to watch. Edward started performing stand up comedy in 2009 and his low-key outsider persona, married with esoteric and engaging material saw him reach the final of the World Series in 2011. As one fourth of multi-award winning sketch group Gein s Family Giftshop, Ed brings a raw nervous energy and perfectly pitched physicality to proceedings. In 2014 Gein s Family Giftshop were nominees for the Best Newcomer Award at The Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Awards. They are also winners of London Sketchfest s Best New Sketch Act & The Audience Choice Award 2014. Gein s sketches give as much attention to their characters, situations and pacing as they do to the eventual punchline. The vast majority of sketches well exceed expectations: Gein s Family Giftshop always goes further, theirs is absurd comedy at its absolute best. Ed Easton is a principle writer for GFG, and most recently, Ed & Kiri Pritchard-McLean wrote an episode of Crackanory for Dave TV. The group have written and starred in a Chortle nominated Sky TV Christmas comedy short Gein s Family Giftshop s Christmas, that was broadcast on sky.com and on Sky Arts, on Christmas Day. Ed was invited to appear in the second series of BBC Drama Inside No. 9, after Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton saw the debut GFG show in Edinburgh. His consummate writing talent also led to him being commissioned with the group, to write a three-part series for BBC Radio Wales, which were hugely popular when they were transmitted during the summer of 2015. Page 1 of 2
Edward Easton (continued) Awards/Competitions Nominees Gein s Family Giftshop s Christmas on Sky Arts - Best TV - Chortle Awards 2016 Winners Gein s Family Giftshop - Best Newcomer Award - Chortle Awards 2015 Nominees Gein s Family Giftshop - Best Character, Improv or Sketch Award - Chortle Awards 2015 Nominees Gein s Family Giftshop - Best Newcomer Award - Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2014 Winners Gein s Family Giftshop - London Sketchfest Best New Sketch 2014 Winners Gein s Family Giftshop - London Sketchfest - Audience Choice - 2014 Gein s Family Giftshop are three excellent comic actors (Easton in particular). Stand-out moments include the one-man My Sharona sing-a-long which showcases Easton s knack for physical comedy, and the Scary Mary will-they-won t-they London is Funny Ed Easton as a constant force for chaos and childish intemperance, this is a really distinctive debut hour that glories in its own silliness, scatology and twisted masturbatory fantasies, without ever growing overpowering. Fest TV and Film 2016 Drunk History - Series 2 (Comedy Central) 2015 Gein s Family Giftshop s Christmas (Sky) 2015 Inside No 9 (BBC) 2014 Best Bathrooms (Corporate Video) 2014 The Jonny and Enel Show (CBBC) 2012 Forever Manchester (Advert Campaign) 2010 The Valentines Girl like You (Music Video) Radio 2015 Comedy Specials Gein s Family Giftshop BBC Radio Wales 2015 Sketchorama Gein s Family Giftshop BBC Radio 4 2014 Fresh from the Fringe BBC Radio 4 first-among-equals Ed Easton, whose lo-camp, faintly hysterical energy gives the show its off-kilter charge. The Guardian Ed Easton is a natural.. energetic, hysterical and able to nail a Coogan-esque kind of stuttering awkwardness during exchanges brilliant to watch as he shifts from to shuffling to flustered to frenzied clowning. Short Com a fun hour of unpleasant comedy, and the sketch in which Ed Easton offering a pint to Kath Hughes spirals into an epic Gothic dumbshow of a season in hell is one for the annals The Guardian Page 2 of 2
F A C I L I T A T O R S O F M I R T H Artist biography James Meehan Playing age: 23-35 Height: 6 Weight: 12 st Hair color: Brown Eye colour: Blue Build average: Average Appearance: White British Native Accent: Lancashire Accents: Lancashire, Scottish, London, American Experienced in: Stand up, improvisation, theatre, acting, plays guitar Driving License: Full and clean James Meehan is a domineering presence with razor sharp timing and cutting Northern wit Short.com Offbeat, aloof, yet delightfully likeable, James Meehan is a current rising star of the British comedy scene. Described as brilliantly unconventional, and refreshingly nonchalant, as a stand-up, James is carving out a niche for himself as a wonderfully offbeat presence on the circuit. Unique and intelligent material sets him apart as a standup, with his writing chops proven once more as one fourth of the multi-award winning sketch group Gein s Family Giftshop. A regular on the Manchester comedy circuit since 2009, James threw himself into the City s thriving stand up scene, and just three years later his talent was recognized when he became a runner up in Preston Comedian of the Year. He continues to be a hit not only in the North West, but across the country. In 2013 James joined Phil Ellis as a cast member and writer on his critically acclaimed Edinburgh show Unplanned Orphan. In 2014 & 15, James was a principle member of the cast of Phil Ellis Funz and Gamez, which won the Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Award Panel Prize in 15 and went on to record a BBC pilot. In 2014 Gein s Family Giftshop were nominees for the Best Newcomer Award at The Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Awards. They are also winners of London Sketchfest s Best New Sketch Act & The Audience Choice Award 2014. Absurd in tone this quartet marry the tragic with the hilarious, as they apply their warped world vision to the hilarious subject matter of abject misery, and human tragedy. Gein s sketches give as much attention to their characters, situations and pacing as they do to the eventual punchline. The vast majority of sketches well exceed expectations: Gein s Family Giftshop always goes further, theirs is absurd comedy at its absolute best. Page 1 of 2
James Meehan (continued) James was invited to appear in the second series of BBC Drama Inside No. 9, after Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton saw the debut GFG show in Edinburgh. He was also commissioned with the group, to write a threepart series for BBC Radio Wales, which were hugely popular when they were transmitted during the summer of 2015. James Meehan wrote and performed in the Chortle nominated Sky Short Gein s Family Christmas transmitted on Sky in December. James has been described as aloof, charming and compelling and was selected for the prestigious Just The Tonic Big Value Showcase at the 2015 Edinburgh Fringe Festival. As befits their serial killer, specialist vendor name, Gein s Family Giftshop excel in the delivery of dark and uniquely depraved sketches. With James Meehan as the de facto leader, Kath Hughes as the put-upon woman and Ed Easton as a constant force for chaos and childish intemperance, this is a really distinctive debut hour that glories in its own silliness, scatology and twisted masturbatory fantasies, without ever growing overpowering Fest Gein s Family Giftshop are three excellent comic actors London is Funny Awards/Competitions Nominees Gein s Family Giftshop s Christmas on Sky Arts - Best TV - Chortle Awards 2016 Winners Gein s Family Giftshop - Best Newcomer Award - Chortle Awards 2015 Nominees Gein s Family Giftshop - Best Character, Improv or Sketch Award - Chortle Awards 2015 Nominees Gein s Family Giftshop - Best Newcomer Award - Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2014 Winners Gein s Family Giftshop - London Sketchfest Best New Sketch 2014 Winners Gein s Family Giftshop - London Sketchfest - Audience Choice - 2014 James Meehan has understated delivery and offbeat charm. Recommended. Lee Martin, Gag Reflex an hour of tense, inventive sketch comedy and enough psychosexual shenanighans to last an entire festival. an experimental format that is by turns bold, intelligent and refreshingly prop free. Memorably unsettling Mail on Sunday TV and Film 2016 Drunk History - Series 2 (Comedy Central) 2015 Gein s Family Giftshop s Christmas (Sky) 2015 Inside No 9 (BBC) 2015 Funz & Gamez TV Pilot (BBC) 2011 The Birthday Cake Short Film 2010 Tarrant Lets the Kids Loose - WatchTV Radio 2015 Comedy Specials Gein s Family Giftshop BBC Radio Wales 2015 Sketchorama Gein s Family Giftshop BBC Radio 4 2014 Fresh from the Fringe BBC Radio 4 Currently appearing at: The Frog and Bucket, XS Malarkey, Comedy Central, Hilarity Bites, Buzz Comedy, Funny Bones Comedy and many more. Page 2 of 2
F A C I L I T A T O R S O F M I R T H Artist biography Kath Hughes Playing age: 20-35 Height: 5 6 Weight: 12.8 st Hair color: Red Eye colour: Blue Build average: Medium Appearance: White Native Accent: North Wales Accents: South Wales, Cockney, Liverpool, RP, Lancashire Experienced in: Theatre, Film acting, skilled in Mixed martial arts Driving License: Full and clean despite the air of simmering surrealism that is rather common in sketch comedy these days, the originality of the ideas and deadpan naturalism of the performances Kath Hughes s especially help make the show feel very much its own thing The Telegraph Understated, with a devastating line in nuanced comic timing, Kath s performance style is a breath of fresh air on both stage and screen. As one fourth of multi-award winning sketch group Gein s Family Giftshop, Kath brings a bold, intelligent and refreshingly subtle side to proceedings. Absurd in tone this quartet marry the tragic with the hilarious, as they apply their warped world vision to the hilarious subject matter of abject misery, and human tragedy. Gein s sketches give as much attention to their characters, situations and pacing as they do to the eventual punchline. The vast majority of sketches well exceed expectations: Gein s Family Giftshop always goes further, theirs is absurd comedy at its absolute best. Gein s Family Giftshop were nominees for Best Newcomer at the Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Awards in 2014. They are also winners of the Chortle Award for Best Newcomer, London Sketchfest s Best New Sketch Act, and The Audience Choice Award. Kath s background in film production informs much of her work, with a preference for the unassuming when writing and performing, thus creating faceted and naturalistic scenes and dialogue. Kath was invited to appear in the second series of BBC Drama Inside No. 9, after Reece Shearsmith and Steve Pemberton saw the debut GFG show in Edinburgh. She was also commissioned with the group, to write a threepart series for BBC Radio Wales, which were hugely popular when they were transmitted during the summer of 2015. Kath Hughes wrote and performed in the Chortle nominated Sky Short Gein s Family Christmas transmitted on Sky in December. Page 1 of 2
Kath Hughes (continued) Awards/Competitions Nominees Gein s Family Giftshop s Christmas on Sky Arts - Best TV - Chortle Awards 2016 Winners Gein s Family Giftshop - Best Newcomer Award - Chortle Awards 2015 Nominees Gein s Family Giftshop - Best Character, Improv or Sketch Award - Chortle Awards 2015 Nominees Gein s Family Giftshop - Best Newcomer Award - Fosters Edinburgh Comedy Awards 2014 Winners Gein s Family Giftshop - London Sketchfest Best New Sketch 2014 Winners Gein s Family Giftshop - London Sketchfest - Audience Choice - 2014 Kath Hughes is deadpan and sardonic, sending herself up with confidence, and able to shift between her default role as the beleaguered of the three to an intimidating stage presence. Hughes s finest moments occur when she is jousting with one of the other two in one of their sharp-tongued interchanges Short.com Hughes certainly pulls her weight, as all three have formidable acting chops, going from the sublime to the ridiculous and demonstrating a gift for physical as well as verbal comedy in their big, pugnacious and energetic performances. The three are pretty brutal with each other, adding violence both physical and psychological to their toilet humour in a messy melting pot of humanity s baser instincts Chortle TV and Film 2016 Drunk History - Series 2 (Comedy Central) 2015 Gein s Family Giftshop s Christmas (Sky) 2015 Inside No 9 (BBC) 2014 The Jonny and Inel Show (CBBC) 2010 Supporting artists A Stab at the Truth (True Lioness Productions) Radio 2015 Sketchorama Gein s Family Giftshop - BBC Radio 4 2015 Comedy Specials Gein s Family Giftshop BBC Radio Wales 2014 Fresh from the Fringe Gein s Family Giftshop BBC Radio 4 2012 Presenter The Rob and Kath Show- Calon Fm 2012 Performer- The Collectors Calon Fm a fun hour of unpleasant comedy, and the sketch in which Ed Easton offering a pint to Kath Hughes spirals into an epic Gothic dumbshow of a season in hell is one for the annals The Guardian Refreshingly nonchalant Hughes does get the last laugh Time Out Page 2 of 2