PREVIEW: A Nook & Cranny Christmas mystery

The Spirit of Christmas, on this weekend at The Staircase, sees Hamilton comedy collaborators Justin Shaw and Devin Bateson reprise their roles as wild and lovable twin detectives.

Comedy collaborators Justin Shaw and Devin Bateson are back as wild and lovable twin detectives Nook & Cranny. This time, they have a new, Christmas-themed mystery show titled The Spirit of Christmas, running Dec. 12 and 13 in which they take on the “greatest mystery of all: Christmas.”

Shaw is a stand-up comedian and storyteller originally from Prince Edward Island who tours across Canada with Yuk Yuks. He has opened for Harland Williams and Fortune Feimster, and has been featured on Hubcap Comedy Festival, JFL42, Departure Festival, and CBC Laugh Out Loud. He has a comedy album, Mostly Clean, available on Sirius XM. He is highly regarded for multiple solo shows The 70 Mile Yard Sale, A Creature is Stirring, and Have Jokes, Will Travel, that he has toured regularly and nationally at venues including Theatre Aquarius, the Blyth Festival, the Charlottetown Festival, Here For Now, and Live @ The Centre.

Hamilton-born Bateson is a multidisciplinary performer – an actor, a sketch comic (who performs with Smooth Comedy at The Staircase), an artist and a musician who can be heard on Sirius XM. He has opened for Jackass and David Liebe Hart, and taught film and comedy through the Art Gallery of Hamilton (AGH) and the Factory Media Centre. His comics have appeared in The Gutter, The Oatbag, and Because Design Matters Magazine. He is gaining a stellar reputation for his solo sketch shows The Midshipman’s Handbook (Hamilton Fringe, Toronto Sketchfest) and Men Love Horsies: The Musical, which premiered at The Staircase for the 2025 Hamilton Fringe Festival, where it won both a Best in Fringe (indie venues) and a Critic’s Pick award.

The pair’s connection with Hamilton audiences as well as with The Staircase has grown ever stronger over the past five years. Shaw performed his show Midnight Baby at the 2021 Hamilton Fringe Festival and The 70 Mile Yard Sale at the 2022 Hamilton Fringe. Shaw presented A Creature is Stirring at the 2023 Hamilton Fringe, the same festival where Bateson performed The Midshipman’s Handbook. All of these shows had performances at The Staircase. Little surprise then that The Staircase was Shaw and Bateson’s venue when they staged the original installment of Nook & Cranny: Twin Detectives at the Hamilton Fringe Festival in July 2024. That show had them playing the parts of “estranged twins and former kid-detectives who reunite as adults to solve the murder of the century. Big laughs and big nonsense abound in this off-the-wall comedy.”  

A few months later, I spoke to Shaw in the lead-up to his short run of The 70 Mile Yard Sale, also at The Staircase. Shaw said the Fringe experience had been a great one, and added that “Devin Bateson is a wild comedian, a terrific collaborator, and even better friend. Our work and comedy styles really complement each other, and it was deeply satisfying to make something that was fun for the sake of fun. And audiences seemed to agree!”

Recently, I asked Shaw and Bateson a few questions ahead of The Spirit of Christmas hitting the stage, and their responses clearly show the friendly banter and nimble energy between them:

(Edited slightly for length and clarity)

How long have you known each other, and how did you meet?

DEVIN: We've known each other about five years; it was our friend Matthew’s bachelor party.

JUSTIN: I actually didn’t believe Devin was comedian when we met because he was kind to me … which is sweet and sad if you think about it. I was new in town and Devin was very keen to learn why Matt invited some new guy to his party.

DEVIN: All I knew was he hosted trivia (nights) and that was grounds to not like him.

JUSTIN: (laughs) Yeah.

When did you know that working as a pair clicked for one another and for your audiences?

DEVIN: I dropped off a book I was getting rid of ,,, I don’t remember which.

JUSTIN: It was a David Cross book. Once we found out we were both fans of Mr. Show, he forgave me for being a trivia host.

DEVIN: That's not true; I never forgave you for being a trivia host.

JUSTIN: We both were working on our own projects, so knowing we had similar inspirations for incredibly different solo works made for a really interesting and immediate rapport.

What do you enjoy most about working together?

DEVIN: He gives me free coffee.

JUSTIN: Your invoice is in the mail.

DEVIN: I also know that when we work there’s an immediate forgiveness. We aren’t trying to overshow or one-up each other, we both care about the show equally. The goal is to make it good.

JUSTIN: And, for me, I can very easily get in my head, and Devin gives me permission to be a psycho.

What do you count on from the other?

JUSTIN: I count on Devin to bring in a high ceiling of wackiness.

DEVIN: ….and Justin keeps me grounded.

JUSTIN: This interview is turning into a valentine.

If someone has never seen one of your Nook and Cranny shows, is there anything they should know? If they’ve never seen either of you perform, what can they expect?

JUSTIN: Well, Nook & Cranny is totally different from what I do. My solo shows draw from my stories and standup comedy, and Devin crafts these unhinged solo sketch shows. Nook & Cranny, though, is a genuine odd-couple hijinks marathon.

DEVIN: They’ll be surprised how smart our stupidity is, and that we have a story with beginning, middle and end. The stupid is on purpose.

JUSTIN: It’s clever, ridiculous, and funny, and we aggressively make sure you follow the story by explaining the plot three times in immediate succession.

Don’t miss the chance to catch the hijinks of these comedy collaborators as they bring The Spirit of Christmas: A Nook & Cranny Mystery! to the stage this weekend. Additionally, be sure to keep an eye out for the next time one of their solo shows makes a local appearance.

NEED TO KNOW

The Spirit of Christmas: A Nook & Cranny Mystery!
Friday, Dec. 12, 8 p.m. ️& Saturday, Dec. 13, 4 p.m.
The Staircase Theatre & Lounge
27 Dundurn St. N., Hamilton
Tickets here