TWO talented young Alton showmen are hoping to make a name for themselves in the challenging world of comedy theatre with a tour that bills them as “the funniest new faces in comedy to hit the road!”.

Luke Bateman and Elliott Williams, both 18 and currently living in Alton, will be hitting the road this summer with ‘Luke and Elliott Live!’.

Well known locally for their often-comic appearances at Holybourne Theatre and the Bordon Phoenix Theatre, they are now taking “a leap into the unknown”, away from sketch shows and full length plays, into the world of stand-up comedy, on a tour that will take them from London to Scotland.

The daring duo have known each other since attending St Lawrence Primary School and Amery Hill Secondary School, before going on to study media, English literature and drama with theatre studies at Alton College.

Luke is currently in his first year studying English literature and creative writing at Newcastle University, while Elliott is serving an apprenticeship for ITV Studios on the South Bank in London.

They have been performing since the age of four in amateur dramatic plays, musicals and pantomimes, as well as “spearheading dozens of sketches, speeches and events, such as compering our school leavers’ prom in 2014”.

Since leaving Amery Hill, the pair have gone on to write, perform in, direct and produce three original plays – Past Times and Present Tents, Caught Off Guard and While Wee Wait – for venues such as Holybourne Theatre and the Bordon Phoenix, where they have attracted “hugely supportive bumper crowds” and been able to work with some of the best local acting talent, such as George Bailey, Daniel Holland, and Harrison Wilde, and technical talent in the form of Nathan Selby, formerly of the Farnham Maltings.

Describing themselves as “a world first!”, not only do they hold a joint county record for most jokes told in a single second, they are, they believe, “the first ever ‘dual-comics’ in the solar system!”.

Their show consists of the ‘cheeky chappies’ telling side-splitting tales and hilarious anecdotes from the not-so-distant past which, they are confident, are “set to raise the roof” – all with the aid of videos, music and photographs from their projector.

The duo’s publicist said: “With their combination of boyish charm and relentless energy, this tour is set to be, as young people would say, ‘lit’ and ‘sick’. But don’t worry if you don’t know what those words mean – neither do they!

“Join them for an unamicable evening of wit, observation and worry. Be prepared to laugh like you’ve never laughed before, to cry like you’ve never cried before, and to sit in your chair like you’ve never... well, you get the idea!”

The tour, which starts on Saturday and ends on July 15, will take the two young comics from Holybourne Theatre, Oakhanger village hall and The Bordon Phoenix to The Theatre Royal Dumfries, Scotland, and The Leicester Square Theatre, London, among others.