WitTank interview

WitTank - the sketch group comprising of (from left to right in the picture) Mark Cooper-Jones, Kieran Boyd and Naz Osmanoglu - is currently on tour. A good time to talk WitTank then. Mark kindly answered these questions on behalf of the group...

Hi Mark. You met at University, is that right?

We sort of met at Univeristy, but in fact, Naz and I went to school together before then. In our first few years we hardly spoke, each believing ourselves to be in a higher social circle than the other. It was only in our GCSE year we finally accepted that we were both complete losers and made friends like the equals we truly were. When we met Kieran at Durham it was clear from the offset that he was cooler than us, mostly because he wasn't always thinking in terms who was cooler than who.

Ha ha. So what were your first steps into comedy together?

So Naz and I did our first sketch show together in the lower sixth which was a mixture of our own stuff and some Python sketches. Then, having ensured we both went to the same college at Durham University, we both failed to get through the auditions for the Durham Revue and decided to start up our own thing with handful of other rejectees, including Kieran.

We liked to think they rued their audition decisions but in truth, some of the early shows were so poor they almost definitely didn't. The name WitTank was invented by co-founding member Rob Leworthy very early on, after other potential names 'Yehudi Did It' and 'Scrombroidal Mackeral' were thankfully vetoed ('scrombroidal' means 'to be like a mackerel', so it would have been like calling ourselves 'Bovine Cow' - bullet dodged). Naz was unaware of the spoonerism in the WitTank name "for six months".

You are also, individually, stand-up comedians. Did you get into stand-up at the same time as sketches?

It's a newer thing. Kieran studied German at Durham and got comedy withdrawals on his year abroad, so started writing stand-up. When he returned, Naz and I quickly became jealous of this newly acquired skill and decided to take the plunge also.

Is there much crossover between sketch and stand-up, or are there different skills to hone?

They are very different skills, but there is some crossover. I think we've all become more confident at dealing with heckles during the sketch show, and we're better at introducing ourselves. Generally though, the difference lies in that stand-up is about portraying a version of yourself, and sketch is about portraying a character that you're trying to pretend isn't a version of yourself.

Performing individually, particularly as you're all becoming known for your stand-up now too, must put a strain on the availability to do WitTank stuff? Do you think WitTank will still be going in five years?

It's very hard to say what will have happened in five years time, but we like to think we'll still be a group in some shape or form. Certainly at the moment we all see WitTank as our primary focus. We do all love doing stand-up, it can be a refreshing break from sketch, but WitTank is where it all started and it's hard to see any of us quitting on that any time soon as we're still enjoying it.

Good answer. So, WitTank are on tour at the moment. What can people expect?

Generally we've been doing a first half of stand-up, then a quick break and an opportunity for people to load up on drinks to ensure they enjoy the second half of sketches all the more. The sketches tend to be loud and silly, and include a sugar addicted bunny, a sex mad Mexican and a birds of paradise mating ritual. If that doesn't entice you, what will?

Sold! WitTank are one of the only touring sketch shows, yet there's loads of stand-ups. It's a surprise there's not more sketch acts too?

Possibly it has something to do with the logistics. It's much easier to just put a mic on stage than to have to set up props, lights and sound every time. Also, people often know what to expect with stand-up and don't always really know what they're getting with sketch. In truth, we don't fully understand it either, sketch comedy is so much fun to watch but, like anything, it has to be done well.

Looking at your tour dates for March and April, you've got a fair bit of travelling to do - hence a lot of time in each other's company coming up. Have you ever fallen out? Any annoying habits?

We do spend a lot of time in each other's company writing, performing and, as you say, travelling. Like any creative group worth their salt we tend to fall out and make up at least once a week, but that's just the nature of spending 75% of your life with the same people.

As the one writing this, I feel completely happy telling you that Kieran's most annoying habit is eating noisily, and, as our driver, Naz needs to stop always playing ACDC's Highway To Hell everytime he starts a car journey - it's deeply unsettling.

We really enjoyed your appearances on Live At The Electric. It must have been great to be able to put some of your sketches on the screen with a decent budget?

It was great. We absolutely loved doing it and it was such a good opportunity for all the acts involved, as there really isn't any other decent medium on television for up-and-coming sketch stuff. We hope you like the stuff on Series 2 as well which is due to come out in the next few months.

Presumably you'd be up for doing more TV. There seems to be a lack of formats for sketch acts to showcase what they can do though?

We'd love to do more TV stuff for sure, there's just so much scope for different sorts of jokes when you can use edit cuts and build entire sets etc. I think there is space for sketch stuff though - perhaps not in showcases like Live At The Electric, but Little Britain, That Mitchell And Webb Look, Armstrong And Miller - they all got their own shows so there's no reason why there can't be others.

That said, in the latest series of Live At The Electric we have set all our sketches in an archaic slightly twisted boarding school, which we really enjoyed writing. If people like it, it could become a location we return to in future projects as a setting for our sketches and characters, possibly giving it more of a sitcom feel - watch this space...

Thanks to Mark for those answers.

For tickets to see WitTank on their national tour, and to find out more about the group, visit www.wittank.com