Ok, so I know he’s not but that’s what my buddy and I both said as we left after seeing Felix Hayes in The Pickled King back in 2003 and when he returned to the Fringe in 2006 with two shows, nothing we saw dissuaded us of this fact. They look similar (well, two eyes, a nose and a mouth) but the essence was the same. Essence? Have you ever met someone who was so incredibly like someone else but as much inwardly (if not more) as outwardly in appearance? That to me is the essence and Felix’s smile, his infectious almost childlike joy in absurdity was so Brian Cant.

The Unsinkable Clerk was a great romp of a play but Them with Tails was absolutely wonderful, so good we went twice! Them with Tails was improvised stories for kids, and out of the mouths of babes came weird and wonderful suggestions, things beyond the reasoning of rational adults. We did later contemplate how funny an adult version of the show would be but decided that what made it so good was the totally innocent suggestions which made for some tricky storylines, as opposed to a too-knowing adult crowd who would be trying too deliberately to set up laughs.

There’s a little game I sometimes play, Desert Island Fringe Shows, where I’m shipwrecked with various Fringe shows, well sometimes I go for the companies so that they can put on other shows and other times it is just the one show they have to perform over and over again! Either way Felix Hayes would be there.