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<\/a>Knowles adds that the depth of their friendship was a huge part of the creation of the characters.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis relationship is great on so many different fronts,\u201d he says. \u201cI feel challenged and inspired and supported.\u201d<\/p>\n
Malkin says they decided to take their James and Jamesy act and share it with a wider audience, to great success.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe put it in a cabaret show, and the audience response was unlike anything we\u2019d ever experienced… And so we expanded an eight-minute skit into a full show tour that did very well,\u201d he says. \u201cIt sold out in every city it went to.\u201d<\/p>\n
But they hadn\u2019t always planned on being performers. Knowles had an entirely different career path in mind until he discovered all that acting brought to his life.<\/p>\n
\u201cI studied business at UBC. So I did a bit of a commerce degree. And then I started studying clown because I thought I might learn more about myself and become a more expressive human. It was in the process of studying clown that I tapped into a sense of play that I felt rejuvenated me. So because I felt that value in embracing this world of play, I think that motivated me to create contexts where that can happen for the broader population. And for us, it\u2019s through theatre.\u201d<\/p>\n
When they come on the stage, playfulness and expressiveness are inevitable, and the love in James and Jamesy\u2019s friendship is part of what makes that on-stage chemistry so easy. The love is so palpable it once brought concern to one potential attendee.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe got an email from an audience member. They were like, I want to attend the show, but I\u2019m concerned that there might be gay content in the show,\u201d says Knowles with a laugh.<\/p>\n
While the connection isn\u2019t necessarily romantic, Knowles isn\u2019t bothered by the speculation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is a love between them,\u201d he says. \u201cInterpret however you feel like interpreting that love, but the love between them is clear and explicitly stated.\u201d<\/p>\n
Knowles says that the most heartwarming part of their decade-long journey is the people who have made the show part of their own traditions. Malkin agrees, adding that the feeling they can offer people through the performance is what brings him back to the stage time and time again.<\/p>\n
\u201cSomething that some audience members have shared after their experience in the show that sticks with me is that through the experience of the show, they discover a new version of themselves,\u201d he says, \u201cwhich comes with an elation of their spirit or their joy and I think it\u2019s largely connected with the opportunities that audience members have to participate in the creation of the show. And that makes me very happy.\u201d<\/p>\n