Kiell Smith-Bynoe & Ed MacArthur in String V SPITTA
As String V SPITTA heads to Malta, Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Ed MacArthur talk about audience chaos, improv and why the hit show leaves people happier than it found them.
I’m interviewing Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Ed MacArthur as they get ready to fly to Malta ahead of their hit show, String V SPITTA. As a geek for anything British pop culture, this is right at the top of my biggest fan girl moments.
I’ve followed Kiell Smith-Bynoe as the star of BBC series Ghosts and as one of the most hilariously indignant (and inexplicably confident) contestants on Taskmaster. I’ve yet to see Ed MacArthur’s live show at Crazy Coqs, but I’ve watched more YouTube videos than I care to admit.
And now the duo is set to land right here to perform the show they co-created, and which The List has described as “glorious silliness” that delivers laughs aplenty.
String V SPITTA is being produced in Malta by entrepreneur, actress and theatre producer Jo Caruana, who discovered the duo during one of her annual jaunts to Edinburgh’s The Fringe. A few conversations later, her company Finesse Events closed the booking. Quite the feat, considering the obvious challenges of bringing over such indie hit shows to the local theatre circuit.
Surprisingly, Malta is not a totally alien destination for Kiell and Ed, or even for director George Chilcott, who will be accompanying them. As we start the interview I pull out the obvious ice-breaker question, asking what they know about the island, if anything.
Ed talks hopefully about wanting to experience the architecture, culture and beaches. Kiell remembers his two previous trips to the island – “there were steps, a lot of steps.” But more importantly, he wants to know about the local drink of choice. Rivers of beer and shots, I say semi-truthfully, fully expecting a shudder in reply.
“That’s excellent. I never drink anything above 25ml,” he quips.
‘Our characters are alarmingly close to our real personalities’
But I’m here to find out more about String V SPITTA. I know the show comes with a wonderfully simple and silly premise. Two rival children’s entertainers have to share the stage at a Russian oligarch’s daughter’s birthday party. Ed is String, the classically trained musical virtuoso. Kiell is SPITTA, the grime-obsessed, East London MC. What follows is an hour of what both describe as “madcap and unhinged” with party games, singalongs, magic tricks and rap battles. But, what is it really?
“We’re treating the audience like kids and they become kids quite quickly. Everyone’s ready to play and have fun without worrying about looking stupid. Which you will. We all do,” Ed says with a laugh.
The audience is usually very quick to become this unlikely duo’s accomplice, disarmed by the general feel-good factor and the fact that this is very much a group activity kind of show.
“The aim is that nobody feels safe,” Kiell adds, rather worryingly, before laughing and adding that it’s not the kind of show that picks on people. “Everyone really joins in because essentially they’re all laughing at us, at the way we each respond so differently to whatever’s happening. That’s where the real humour happens.”
The entire show is built on this difference. String is kind of posh, a disciplinarian, interested in following the rules more than in making sure the kids have a good time. SPITTA is the cheeky, playful maverick.
“Our characters are alarmingly close to our real personalities, even though we pretend they aren’t,” Ed acknowledges.
Their approach to the show reflects this. Kiell improvises every night. He’s written 50% of the script, but has never seen the script according to Ed. He rolls up at 8pm, long after Ed has started his vocal exercises.
“We definitely have very different sensibilities, but he makes me laugh in different ways each night.”
‘If you’re not surprised, you’re either AI or Simon Cowell’
So who’s more likely to derail the show? Ed gets in before his co-star.
“Kiell, because he doesn’t even know it. Or me, because Kiell skipped a few scenes ahead and now I’ve got to rewrite the scene in real time.”
But Kiell is not having it. “Actually, I think you can swap our names at any point here and it’ll still be true.”
Ed concedes, pointing out that their personalities do shift significantly throughout the process.
“With Kiell, I’m like the kid at the back of the school bus. But my sensibilities are more those of the head boy at the front. And this is what makes it such fun,” he says, as both boom with laughter.
The stage chemistry between these two is off the charts even on what should be a mundane Zoom call. It’s only too easy to imagine the sparks flying when they’re actually on stage. Does actual competition ever creep into the show? After all, at least one of them did get a legendary rep for being super-competitive (hint, it’s not Ed). This, however, isn’t how the actual show works.
“On the show it’s hard to feel competitive when we’re so reliant on each other. It’s all so raw and chaotic that the only competition we feel is, whose show it is anyway? Is it ours, or the audience’s. We play two people who are competing against each other, but we’re a team,” Ed says.
“The thing about these characters is that they are really good,” Kiell adds. “”We’re not just pretending that we’re great at what we’re doing, we are actually masters of our craft. So it’s not about competing with each other.”
“If there’s any competition going on, it’s about who’s going to be the first to get there on any given night,” Ed retorts.
In other words, it’s a completely different vibe from the energy Kiell brought to Taskmaster, and it works. The show has received consistently rave reviews and not only from critics but from those who matter most — the audience. Kiell is not shy about agreeing.
“What I can guarantee is that nobody will hate it. There are so many elements to it, I don’t think anyone else has seen that much happen within one show. The magic, the songs, the arrangements, the sheer amount of props… If you’re not surprised, you’re either AI or Simon Cowell.”
And, although the concept may sound “completely daft” (Ed’s words, not mine) and perhaps a tad unstructured (mine), there’s actually a lot of thought behind it.
“It may sound frothy,” Ed acknowledges. “But we’re in our element when we take frothy things seriously.” The music side of things, he adds, is on point. This doesn’t surprise me, given that Kiell is an actual grime MC, Ed is a bona fide musician (check out his albums on Spotify) and the show is thoroughly well-researched despite the element of spontaneity. In fact, the duo plans to tweak parts of the show that are too London-centric and adapt these to a Maltese audience.
A good chunk of the audience is likely to be most familiar with Kiell from playing Mike on Ghosts. What’s the one thing Ghosts fans might be surprised to see him doing on this show?
“Balloon animals. People can’t believe how good I am at it. I did work in children’s entertainment and that’s pretty much the first thing they teach you as soon as you get the job. So, I can make a dog. And a giraffe, which is a dog with a long neck. A sheep, which is basically a fat dog. And then the sheep becomes a cow… No-one can ever quite believe this.”
As for Ed, we can expect to see him in a cameo on Ted Lasso in the upcoming Season 4. I want to ask him what’s the least Ted Lasso thing about this show, but he flips the question for me.
“Actually, there’s a similar joyfulness and positivity to both. They are different, but the main sensibility of not being dark and being joyful is the same. Of course, Ted Lasso has a structured format, while String V SPITTA is audience-led, comes with magic tricks and is completely unhinged. But both have the same feel-good flavour,” he tells me.
Kiell’s and Ed’s replies to my final question hardly comes as a surprise. Who’s the best person to take with you to this show?
“Someone who needs cheering up.”
“Everyone always leaves happier. Rubbish day at work? Going through something? We’ll cheer you up.”
And if that isn’t the best advert for the show, I don’t know what is.
String V SPITTA show details
String V SPITTA runs at Theatre Next Door, Maghŧab. Shows start at 7.30pm and 9.30pm on May 9 and at 7.30pm on May 10. The show contains strong language and is limited to audiences aged 16+. A limited number tickets are available from www.fmt.com.mt/tnd.
Improv masterclass for local performers
Both performers will lead an improvisation and characterisation workshop at Theatre Next Door on May 10. This is a unique opportunity for performers at any level to train with two of Britain’s most in-demand comedy talents, alongside award-nominated theatre director George Chilcott. The three-hour session covers character building, improv techniques, musical and physical comedy, scene dynamics and comic timing.
The workshop draws from the creative process behind String V SPITTA. Workshop places are strictly limited to 30 and priced at €65, which includes a ticket to watch the show. Booking is essential – reserve a place by contacting Jo Caruana on +356 9946 2273.
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I received no payment for this interview The opinions expressed here are purely my own and the show’s producers had no input/control over what I wrote. There are no affiliate links contained within this page. To learn more about my policies and my content process, visit my Affiliate/Advertising disclosure page.
If you’d like to read more about the culture scene in Malta, check out the deep dives section or take a look at my theatre reviews.
