Katherine MacAlister meets one half of a comedy duo keen to start their election campaign at home

Jonny & The Baptists, all one of them, are holed up in New York when we speak, appearing off Broadway while writing a new show, desperate to return to their home town of Oxford.

Kicking off a new tour at the Old Fire Station, it will undoubtedly sell out, the comedy duo’s fame having spread far and wide since bursting on to the scene in 2013; their initial tour extending to London, their success instant.

Jonny Donahoe and Paddy Gervers can’t wait to return to Blighty, homesick despite the Yanks enjoying them almost as much as we do, and keen as mustard to get stuck into Rock The Vote, the satirical rockers’ biggest tour, aiming to “bring democracy to a town near you”.

The antithesis of Russell Brand’s controversial advice to young people not to vote, Jonny & the Baptists are adamant we should and have based the show on that premise.

But if politics turns you off, The Baptists won’t; their hilarious take on the world, as evidenced through comedy and music, entirely addictive.

So why are they so fired up? “It’s a reaction against Russell Brand. The most important people to vote are young people, so we are selling £5 tickets to first time voters because it is so important.

“Being in the US only clarifies that. You don’t appreciate the NHS, Welfare State or the BBC until you don’t have them. We live in an era when it’s hard to be politically engaged, but we have to protect the things we love when so many decisions are being made for us. Unless you vote, these things will slowly be eroded and we can’t afford to lose them.

“Take Oxford,” Jonny says. “In America, there is no Arts Council funding so the OFS wouldn’t exist. But in Oxford, there is so much in the way of arts, so many theatres and organisations, whatever your background.”

Jonny says the pair have always been “politically engaged”, joining Mark Thomas on his 1,000 Acts of Minor Descent at The National, so does he have aspirations?

“I would make a terrible MP, but the job of an artist is to shout from the rooftops to get people to change. The British laugh at things, humour and satire are vital.”

Jonny and Paddy, who both grew up in Oxford and were at school together at Abingdon, are looking forward to their homecoming.

“It will be nice to open the tour at the OFS in Oxford,” says Jonny, then he pauses.

“The dream is obviously to play at the Playhouse and stay at the Randolph, but the OFS is also a great place and we are very excited to be starring there.”

Where will they be staying? “On Paddy’s brother’s couch. But you’ve got to have dreams. One day it will be The Randolph.”

Jonny and the Baptists
Old Fire Station, Oxford
April 2
Tickets: £10/£8, ticketsoxford.com 01865 305305