X-rated comedy duo Armstrong and Miller will soon be streaking onto the stage of the Fairfield Halls, bringing with them the unique characters from their sketch show and, of course, plenty of nakedness.

Success for the talented comic-actors has not come easily.

They first met in 1992 at Cambridge University, and toured theatres up and down the country before their nomination for the Perrier Award in 1996 began a snowballing of offers and, of course, their three series on Channel Four.

One half of the pair, Alexander Armstrong, said to the Guardian: "When we used to tour, it was just me and Ben (Miller) and my little Fiesta. This is the first time we've been touring on stage since the TV show."

Also this time, they have the considerable comfort of being holed up in a London hotel for the entire tour, but don't expect the content to be any the less risque when they appear in Croydon on November 8.

Unconventional, acclaimed comedy, this show will consist of a series of understated scenes - think the perspicacious, bizarre humour of The League of Gentlemen combined with the pace and characterisation of the Fast Show.

With influences including Monty Python, and contemporaries such as Steve Coogan and Simon Pegg, Alexander said: "Our sketches come from little ideas that become big.

"We take things that are quite slight and subtle, and they become this massive thing."

Followers of the television series can look forward to more sharp and suggestive parodying of popular culture like the Chauvinist Gays, or the fly-on-the-wall mock-umentary' Naked Practice where there is nothing funny except the fact that the characters are naked.

Appearing in the television scenes with Sarah Alexander, currently seen in BBC2's Coupling, he could not be blamed for sharing the audience's wilful anticipation of the scenes.

"We try to do as many of those as possible," he said, surprisingly. "Initially, it was going to be just one sketch, and we had a lot of problems before then trying to find the right sort of actress who got the joke'."

Also featured in the tour will be regional detective Inspector Jack Force, a typical maverick TV detective, but also an alcoholic who commonly explains his deductions to his imaginary train-driving friend, Chuffy.

The resulting hilarity of the sketches excretes covert satire all over the trivial, frivolous, self-interested aspects of detective shows, reality TV, and yoof culture'.

In the pipe line is radio comedy The Fold, described by Alexander as a mixture of The Late Review and The Priory featuring the exploits of two Broadsheet rock critics, supposed music journalists, Craig and Martin. Also in November, look out for the pair starring alongside Steve Coogan in the new BBC2 comedy show Dr

Terrible's House of Horrible.

For tickets to the Fairfield show call 020 8688 9291.

October 25, 2001 10:00