Their bio says they met in a dusty garage in the lonely suburbs of Sydney.
“I have been hanging out in garages for years,” elaborates acclaimed comedian David Tieck, as he changes gear and starts taking his answer off-road.
“I find most of my spider army there, at least the loyal spiders, and one day this spider came in with eight eyes so beautiful that they seemed like two – and three months later I realised ‘oh, you’re a human, that explains your woefully inadequate limb count’ but by that time I’d developed feelings for her and named her Sharney. I don’t make her sleep on a web anymore, either.”
The Sharney he refers to is multi-award-winning performer Sharnema Nougar, who, like Tieck, had been lured to said garage under the pretense of giving some ‘outside eye’ feedback to a fellow performer who was actually playing cupid and setting up this real life meet-cute, minus the arachnid aspect.
Tieck’s wildly imaginative answer to the interview question is a good insight into the “stupid dumb joy-riddled fun” the pair have parlayed into their critically acclaimed act, Two Little Dickheads, which has seen them being referred to as “Monty Python energy with an Australian edge” in a five-star review from The List.
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When they met, Tieck was improvising (having spent several years gaining stage time in LA with Upright Citizens Brigade, The Second City and IO) and WAAPA graduate Nougar was at the point in her career where she had “started to pull a twelve-inch tong and broccoli out of my bra and feeding it to audience members and pretending to be a lobster lady”.
Coupledom for these clowns, who both trained with French master Philippe Gaulier, came first. “Couple then duo, which is the best way. So many comedy duos go the other way, and then regret the sex – that’s what split up the Marx brothers,” says Tieck from Adelaide, where Covid unfortunately cut short their run.
“I’ve never really loved performing alone, so I said ‘wanna do a bit with me’” recalls Tieck of when he was co-running an open mic night in Paramatta. “We bombed so hard at first that we trauma bonded. Now, we crush so hard we celebrate the bond. Seems like bonding is easier than most people think – stop lying to us welders!”
Nougar, who’s also a winner of the Inspiration Award at the Prague Fringe, says they are both hilarious. “It would be cruel to the world to deny our humour and chemistry. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie never once did a festival show in a yurt together – that’s why they failed. Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson are currently in a yurt together- although I’m told theirs is a sex thing,” she quips.
“Our first show together I wore a gown made out of colanders, it took half a garage to store, it was phenomenal but very hard to take on tour,” remembers Nougar, explaining why they now favour pyjamas onstage instead.
It was comedy colleague Tessa Waters who inadvertently named them after a gig one night during Melbourne Fringe. “My wonderful wife from the Fringe Wives Club called us Two Little Dickheads, and we said ‘that’s a good name for a show’ and we’ve never looked back,” explains Nougar.
Indeed, they haven’t, and the pair – billed as “your favourite pair of cat-loving, Bi-Wife-Energy powered (the new renewable!), bio-glitter covered, Fanta swilling, recycling champions” – have been collecting accolades for several years now, in festivals around Australia and overseas.
Their latest show, Slot Fillers, debuted to packed houses at the 2023 Edinburgh Fringe, managed to get half a season in during Adelaide last month, and now, back to full health, will be a part of the 2024 Melbourne International Comedy Festival.
“It’s been a dream,” says Tieck of their career together so far. “Like literally almost half our seasons have not been killed by Covid. We’re famous as shit in Edinburgh and we’re playing Storyville again which is literally Alice in Wonderland. Yay!”
While this loved-up couple (“we are disgusting,” admits Tieck) keep killing on-stage together, they are also busy with other projects this festival. Nougar is directing Motorboat by Mel McGlensey, which won a weekly comedy award in Adelaide; Lauren Bok’s BOKLESQUE; and “I also have a wee hand on Cherese Sonkkila’s show Fruition.” Meanwhile, film-buff Tieck will be also be performing in improvised movie show Hollywouldn’t.
Slot Fillers, which has had outside eye and show development by Laura Trenerry from multi-award winning comedy troupe the Travelling Sisters, will be deconstructing the power of love through lo-fi indie rock using “silly songs, demented puppets, high end opera, and bucket loads of stoopidity thrown all over you,” says Nougar.
Given they “luxuriate in chaos” when on stage, she encourages audience members to come to more than one show. “There will always be lots of things the same, but also always something unique and special because of that audience that night. That’s the magic of dickheads.”
Two Little Dickheads are performing at Storyville from April 9-21, get tickets here.
This article was made in partnership with Two Little Dickheads.
