Mump & Smoot Shows

Mump & Smoot in "FLUX"

Mump & Smoot are in flux as they return to the Ummonian wilderness they love so much, in search of spiritual renewal. Here, they hope to achieve a sense of balance in their hectic yet always adventurous existence so they can successfully deal with their ever-crumbling world. Throughout this journey their abilities to survive emotionally, spiritually, and physically are put to the test.

"FLUX" premiered in Edmonton leading off a wildly successful national Western tour which saw the "post-apocalyptic Smothers Brothers" (Edmonton Journal) in Calgary and Vancouver before opening in Toronto to critical raves and sold-out houses.

Mump & Smoot in Flux won two Dora awards in 2003 for Outstanding Production and Direction in the Independent Theatre Category.

Written & Created by Michael Kennard & John Turner
Directed by Karen Hines
Starring Michael Kennard as Mump, John Turner as Smoot
and Scott Macdonald as Boolawa
Music Composition & Sound Design by Greg Morrison
Lighting Design by Michel Charbonneau
Set Design by Campbell Manning

REVIEWS - Flux

"Mump & Smoot are a national treasure. The consistent magic of Mump & Smoot is their connection with and awareness of the audience."
- Edmonton Sun

"What a fine theatrical jewel: think Campfire Girls meet Sartre…. What impresses the most is how endlessly literate this comedy team is (especially given how accessible and basic their humour might be - Commedia del Arte meets Barnum and Bailey) and how layered their performances end up being. I'm also totally blown away with how the pair manages to walk that fine comedic line and create a deeply pathos-dripped work that never dips into the needlessly grotesque."
- See Magazine

"...uproarious...wonderful...remarkable physical control...hilarious..."
- Vue Weekly

"...one of the great entrances of the year... the chemistry is winningly, and precisely, set forth in this delightful show."
- Edmonton Journal

"...individual and shared genius... awesome talents... Flux boasts an exceptional set, sound and lighting designs and Mump & Smoot's canoe is a marvel."
- Calgary Sun

"Flux is very funny and ingenious entertainment...inspired silliness... flawless timing... finely calculated movement... Kennard and Turner showed us once more how subtle and delightful the art of clowning can be."
- Calgary Herald

"Flux is sometimes horrifying and always hilarious ... clever physical comedy and inspired improvisation, all of it deeply rooted in the most primal parts of the human psyche."
- Vancouver Sun

Mump & Smoot in "FERNO"

In "Ferno", Mump & Smoot head off on a relaxing vacation. However, when the pilot doesn't show up, the clowns decide to fly the plane themselves with disastrous and hilarious results. Over the course of their journey, the clowns endure fear of flying, fear of death, death, religion, cannibalism, despair, isolation, and friendship.

"Abbott and Costello meet the Honeymooners on a Gilligan's Island cruise to Hell - as directed by David Lynch."
- Jeff Craig, Edmonton Sun

"Theirs is a strange but easy-to-grasp language, sounding at various times like German, Quebecois and Swahili, but just as often like the distorted dream English of James Joyce. To venture an esoteric comparison, their conversations sometimes remind one of the exchanges between Jute and Mutt, the comic duo of Finnegans Wake...However there is nothing in the least bit esoteric about Mump and Smoot. Their antics are the familiar ones of much better-known comedy teams - happy echoes of Stan and Ollie, Bud and Lou, Ralph and Ed...It's as if Abbott and Costello had suddenly acquired the sadistic streak of Monty Python, as the pair serve up hilariously funny sick sight gags involving severed limbs, cannibalism and futile murder."
- Martin Morrow, Calgary Herald

"Imagine clowns on amphetamines. Monty Python with a spiritual aspect. A trip to hell and back that inspires screams of laughter. Twin Peaks with funny noses. Manic depressives in makeup."
- Karen Bell, Performing Arts

Mump & Smoot in "CAGED"

In "Caged", Smoot and the sacred Cone of Ummo have been taken and imprisoned by the clowns' evil nemesis Tagon - Mump to the rescue. In between systematic torture sequences the clowns use incantations from their holy book (the Boolabah) and clown logic in attempts to escape with the sacred Cone from the deepest bowels of Tagon's lair.

It is a darkly comedic story of separation, torment, blasphemy, betrayal, torture and reconciliation.

"The grisly scene has a postapocalyptic air - Beckett meets the Road Warrior."
- Laurie Stone, The Village Voice

"Imagine that the Godot that Vladimir and Estragon were waiting for had arrived and turned out to be the devil... The play, if you can call it that, is very close to the heart of the absurdest playwrites."
- Lloyd Dykk, The Vancouver Sun

"...combines elements of the Bowery Boys, Star Trek, Dracula and almost any buddy movie you can name, creating a yuck-fest of the first order."
- James Parker, Saskatoon Star-Phoenix

"The scariest show at the Edmonton Fringe...By the play's end, I would have gladly opted for the more pastoral charms of David Cronenberg or Stephen King."
- Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail

"Mump & Smoot are the John Wayne Gaceys of the clown world, walking the thin red line between horror and hilarity. The creation of Canadian slapstickers Michael Kennard and John Turner, the red-nosed clowns and their brilliant slash-and-crash antics echo Antonin Artaud and his Theatre of Cruelty, Samuel Beckett, and Alfred Jarry...as well as cinematic comedy teams from Laurel and Hardy to Abbott and Costello."
- Bill Marx, Boston Phoenix

"Mump and Smoot are the latest wrinkle on the existential fall-guy, the Everymen buddy-buddies alone at the edge of the world. With their horned caps, bulbous noses and pancake eye masks, however,they are closer to big-tent Laurel and Hardy than new-age Vladimir and Estragons... They are magnetic punchinellos, maintaining an equally facile grip on pathos and slapstick... this eccentric brew of Grand Guignol and New Vaudeville..."
- Jan Stuart, New York Newsday

Mump & Smoot in "SOMETHING"

In "Something", Mump & Smoot delight in the chaos of a nightmarish world. Their journey takes them to a quiet cafe, a somewhat gruesome wake, and finally, a catastrophic visit to the doctor's office.

"They are a little bit Laurel and Hardy, a little bit David Cronenberg"
- Bob Remington, Edmonton Journal

"... like a Martian Abbott and Costello with painted faces."
- NOW Magazine

"Their act is the Twilight Zone version of some of the best-loved comedy classics from Laurel and Hardy to Monty Python."
- Bernadette DeSantis, The Eyeopener