The Pajama Men in The Last Stand to Reason

First published on 9 Mar 2010. Updated on 5 Apr 2011.

The Pajama Men – Shenoah Allen and Mark Chavez – huddle around a speakerphone to speak to Time Out Sydney.

So you're comfortable yelling into the same phone?
Shenoah: Oh, we're fine. Mark and I don't get enough intimate time together.
Mark: Yeah. We just don't spend enough time together. We need something where we always breathe the same air.

Your immune systems must be formidable.
Shenoah: Well, at least we're immune to the same things.

So you're in Melbourne at the moment?
Mark: Yes, we're in the Medina Grand [Hotel].
Shenoah: We're here all afternoon, if you want to come over.
Mark: I'm in the bedroom with the washer and dryer. Shenoah's in the bedroom that has the view of the city. So take your pick which room you want to visit. If you want your clothes washed, I'm your man.
Shenoah: If you want a romantic evening, talk to me.

Can I go from one to the other?
Shenoah: You're going to need to go to Mark's after mine.
Mark: Yes. You'll definitely want to clean your clothes.

Wow. That's a comprehensive service you provide.
Shenoah: Yeah, it's a way to make a little extra cash.
Mark: By the way, we are charging.
Shenoah: It's only $40.

So the new show's been going well in Melbourne?
Mark: It's been wonderful: the audiences have been... well, there, which is good. And the shows have been going really, really well with extra dates being added and the whole run selling out. We're in the Lower [Melbourne] Town Hall, which is a much bigger venue than we were in last year - we were in the Bosco [Theatre] last year, which was an exercise in dealing with cacophonous things outside.
Shenoah: It was so loud - there were horse buggies going by, and trams, and there was guy on the corner trying to convert sinners into... [thinks] ...retards.

High-volume proselyting aside, it sounds a bit similar to the change in venues here: this year you're at the Opera House, last year you were pretty much in a cupboard.
Shenoah: I know! It's been a pretty amazing growth rate here in Australia.
Mark: I still can't believe we're performing at the Opera House. That's something I can tell my grandkids. If I ever have grandkids.
Shenoah: You might want to start with kids.
Mark: I would have grandkids, if I can skip kids.
Shenoah: I think it skips a generation in my family. It's hereditary. I was born an adult man.

How does The Last Stand to Reason compare with last year's Versus vs Versus show?
Mark: This show has just the tiniest bit more narrative, but still it's a show you would not go to see the narrative of. The narrative is there just to help us along. It's the same vein as the last show, for sure: we play a lot of characters, it's kinda off the wall, it's maybe a bit non-sequitury sometimes, we start a whole bunch of stories at the beginning and then you realise they're all kind of related...

When you said "this show has the tiniest bit more..." I was really hoping you'd conclude "...heart".
Mark: Oh! There is a lot of heart! It is a love story.
Shenoah: "Next up: a very special episode of the Pajama Men..." Andrew P Street