INTERVIEW: Happy Metal Geek Interviews THE SICK SENSE In The Strand Arts Centre

Happy Metal Geek Interviews the comedy sketch group THE SICK SENSE just they go on to perform their “Stranded” comedy show in the Strand Arts Centre

Their next show is SICKRONICITY on 13 April 2019 in The MAC Theatre

Follow THE SICK SENSE online

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Jones

Andrew Jones Cassidy is a performer from Portadown and now resides in Belfast. Andrew has been performing now for twenty years; in which he started off on stage with The Phoenix Players. During his 6 years there he has played main characters in plays such as Grease, Bugsy Malone, The Little Shop of Horrors and many more. From here Andrew moved to Belfast and obtained a degree in Drama from Queens University Belfast. Since obtaining his degree, Andrew has created a band called Cursed Sun with whom he is the lead singer/lyricist. To date Cursed Sun has released 5 C.Ds and perform as much as possible. Performing is in his blood and he consistently searches for new roles or anything that interests his artistic side. Andrew has a real love and intrigue for comedy. The obvious choice was to join Chris, Bill and Stephen in this endeavour; The Sick Sense as it’s the perfect combination for creating, writing, acting and improvisation. My hope for The Sick Sense is to ultimately have a T.V show. I believe we are creating comedy that isn’t performed here. I want our comedy to travel and I hope audiences find it a breath of fresh air and that we can make yas laugh.

Stevie

Stephen has been writing and performing since 2008. He started out attending comedy improv classes at The Crescent Arts Centre. With some of his fellow class mates he went on to write, perform and direct The Tony St Clair Show which was part of The Belfast Fringe Festival in 2010. Stephen has performed in sell out comedy shows in the Black Box and The MAC in Belfast. Stephen has written and acted in short films most notably in 2014 winning Film Devour 13 Audience Choice Award with Hoplophobia this is where he met fellow Sick Sense members Bill Taylor and Chris Kaxxx Cassidy. Also in 2014 he co-wrote with Bill Taylor and Rory Lindsay a TV pilot Talent Agents which was part of the 2015 Belfast Film Festival. Stephen also performed in this along with Andrew Jones Cassidy, Chris Kaxxx Cassidy and Bill Taylor. One year later they formed The Sick Sense. My goal in life is to prove than you can indeed get somewhere in life by acting an eejit

Bill

What can be said about Bill Taylor that isn’t already scrawled on toilet walls? He is a father and a husband, and while he’s awaiting the call to join The A Team as their Northern Irish curmudgeon sidekick, he writes and makes films. Bill has been at this lark for 10 years now, and he hopes to get good at it, just like he is with the writtening of the word things. It was his love of films that drove him to comedy, as everything he wrote seemed to make people laugh (perhaps not due to the content). After a chance encounter with Hunter S Thompson, an alien banana enthusiast, and a talking giraffe (ask him about it sometime), he joined forces with Chris, Andrew and Stephen to form the comedy super group THE SICK SENSE. Bill hopes that the funny foursome can deliver their unique and insightful comedy to many a crowd for a long time to come, and is ultimately just searching for a subject his consciousness won’t allow him to write a joke about – he certainly hasn’t found one yet.

Kaxxx

Chris Cassidy (brother of Jones) is a performer/writer from Portadown now residing in Dublin. Chris initially pursued a career in Art & Design, studying at Belfast’s University of Ulster. Becoming disillusioned with the lack of opportunity offered to ‘would be’ Illustrators or Animators within N. Ireland, Chris turned his attention to another of his great loves, music. Having grown up with a musician father and in a musical household, he turned his hand to Bass guitar and the Metal genre. Chris formed Nu Metal cover band, Zero before being recruited to the ranks of N. Irish Metal stalwarts, Sinocence. Chris spent 5 years honing his craft and being pushed to his creative and technical limits within a hardworking, gigging band. Managing to land support slots with Metal giants Machine Head and W.A.S.P. etc. Sinocence would sign a worldwide distribution deal, pushing the band to the next level. The hard work was paying off.
However, in July of 2007 Chris would depart the band but not leave music. Chris music career would eventually finish up with the powerful but short lived Metal act, 7 Days Dead.
Still having the itch to create and perform, Chris delved into Comedy. Writing, directing and even appearing in various short films and skits, Chris found his niche and more importantly, like minded individuals. Having attended numerous Film Devour festivals in Belfast with Jones, the pair would meet Bill Taylor and Stephen Barrett. The groundwork began to be laid for where we have ended up today – The Sick Sense. A comedy and creative foursome that is ready, willing and MORE THAN capable of grabbing interest and opportunity to get their unique voice and vision out to the masses.

The Sick Sense deliver dark and edgy, sketch based comedy with absolutely NO apologies. It ain’t just a clever name – you have been warned!