Husband-and-wife duo Daredevil Chicken are wedded to comedy
Working at the same office as your spouse might feel like a circus for some couples, but Jonathan Taylor and Anne Goldmann make juggling love and work look easy.
The husband-and-wife team behind the comedy duo Daredevil Chicken return to the Seaport this month as part of “The Great Mr. Swindle’s Traveling Peculiarium and Drink-Ory Garden.” After its debut in Boston last fall, the show will again take over Harpoon Brewery Oct. 12Nov. 5, featuring special libations plus a mix of big-top theatrics, circus acrobatics, and vaudeville-style comedy intended for the 18-and-over crowd.
For Taylor and Goldmann — who blend elements of clowning, cabaret, and, occasionally, bananas with their comedic performances — traveling the world and taking the stage with their significant other is a dream come true.
“Jonathan is my greatest creative partner,” says Goldmann, speaking by phone. “We have really lucked out in that it works for us, because it doesn’t work out for every couple.”
Although the couple met while Goldmann was attending circus school in San Francisco and now call California home, they lived in Jamaica Plain for several years in the early 2000s when Taylor performed with Blue Man Group.
The duo honed their comedic act as street performers outside Faneuil Hall, where they would showcase acrobatics like juggling knives while balancing on a slack rope, mixed with fun moments like dressing audience members in tutus.
“That’s where Anne and I first started,” says Taylor. “The material that we’re doing now, the roots actually come from Faneuil Hall and developing it on the street there, which was a great setting to develop comedy.”
The couple would also take part in burlesque shows around town; they were even tapped by the Dresden Dolls to perform at the release party for the band’s debut album.
“There was a bit of an underground scene besides Faneuil Hall where we were doing this more edgy, adult material,” says Taylor. “We developed our material in Faneuil Hall for families, and we still perform for families, but we also do more adult comedy for the beer drinkers that will be at this show at Harpoon.”
As Daredevil Chicken, they like to bring their marriage into their act and find the humor in spousal interactions.
Whether they are on the street corners of Faneuil Hall or stages like the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, the duo believes that focusing on universal themes like honesty and relationships makes it easier to connect with audiences no matter where they are in the world.
“People respond to honesty in comedy,” says Goldmann. “Whenever there’s a little bit of truth, that is what really makes people laugh.”