鈥淎n oaken noggin? A type of wood? A wooden head? Made of oak,鈥� asked Jamesy.

鈥淣o, no, Jamesy, it鈥檚 the Okanagan! It鈥檚 a region; they鈥檝e got wine and open fields,鈥� replied James.

鈥淛ames, please tell me they have tea!鈥�

鈥淥f course they have tea, but I鈥檓 sure they鈥檝e never tried your tea, Jamesy.鈥�

鈥淛ames, we could have a tea party. We could invite the oaken noggin, we could test each of their noggins as they arrive, which one is the oaken noggin? We must have a tea party, James, to answer who has the oaken noggin.鈥�

James and Jamesy, known as Aaron Malkin and Alastair Knowles respectively, are bringing their whimsical comedy back to the Okanagan with their holiday performance, O Christmas Tea. According to their website, their shows are investigations in participatory theatre merging physical comedy, clown and dance to create theatrical environments where audiences feel invited and compelled to participate.

O Christmas Tea varies from their other productions as being holiday-themed, but the pair noted the show is non-denominational overall so that people of all backgrounds will enjoy it.

鈥淭his show really celebrates imagination and friendship, and in my mind, that鈥檚 the essential part of what I think of as the holiday spirit,鈥� said Knowles. 鈥淵ou get to come together and be in an environment that you get to play with the unknown.鈥�

In partnership with David MacMurray Smith, James and Jamesy is a Canadian performance company that has sold more than 60,000 tickets and has performed shows more than 500 times across Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom.

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Their family-friendly comedy style is suitable for all ages and is sure to have audience members playing along inside their fantasy world. It is not uncommon for audience members to even take on roles in the performance as the show progresses.

鈥淲hat we love to do with our performances is create an environment that compels the audience to play with us,鈥� said Knowles. 鈥淪o we wrote the show to entertain ourselves initially. We came about creating the James and Jamesy show thinking, 鈥楾his would be so fun to do with an audience, do you think an audience could get on board doing this?鈥�

Malkin and Knowles said they often see repeat audience members when they return to this area, and they frequently hear that people enjoy their on-stage personalities. The characters, James and Jamesy, often represent opposites such as the 鈥減roper and absurd鈥� or the 鈥渋nwardly focused and outwardly focused.鈥�

鈥淥ne thing that people time and time again say that they love most about our shows is the chemistry between us. There鈥檚 no fall man, we鈥檙e there trying to get into each other鈥檚 worlds and support each other,鈥� said Malkin.

鈥淎aron鈥檚 character, James, lives in the real world and can interact with the audience in a very real way, whereas Jamesy lives in a world where imagination can take over at the drop of the hat,鈥� said Knowles. 鈥淪o the two of them represent the two sides of what I consider to be essential elements of British humour, propriety and peculiarity.鈥�

Malkin said O Christmas Tea stands on its own and that the audience does not need to be familiar with their other shows to enjoy themselves. It does help, however, when the crowd knows to expect the unexpected.

鈥淲hen we return to cities with new shows, people will share stories of things that happened in a previous show that they have in their everyday lives at home,鈥� said Malkin. 鈥淔or example, how Jamesy pours tea is something that is mentioned, and how people have made it sort of a ritual in their homes. Walking into that enthusiasm with an audience that knows the character is always a good start.鈥�

鈥淚n O Christmas Tea, the world is transformed in so many ways, from being on board a gigantic ship to being underwater, where the audience is deep sea creatures,鈥� said Knowles. 鈥淚鈥檝e had people come up to me before and say they鈥檝e never felt that they were a different creature, and people will say, 鈥業 was a sea anemone!鈥� after our show.鈥�

The two believe their acts spread an important message of having 鈥渃ompassion for people who see the world through a different lens鈥�, and that it provides a 鈥渞eason to support the cause of coming together.鈥�

O Christmas Tea will make its first stop in the Okanagan at the Venables Theatre in Oliver on Dec. 19. Next, they take the stage in Penticton at the Cleland Theatre on Dec. 19. On Dec. 20 the show stops at Mary Irwin Theatre in 91大黄鸭 and

Dec. 22 people can catch their act at the Vernon Performing Arts Centre in Vernon. Showtimes and ticket prices can be found online at .