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THE MANY FACES OF HAMISH LLOYD BARNES From school plays to clown school to a haunted theatre of his own creation, the young comic traces the winding path that led him to the stage — and the many characters who now live there.
Nearly ten years after leaving Dulwich College, Hamish Lloyd Barnes (09-16) is still fuelled by the same impulse that first nudged him toward the stage: the thrill of making something from nothing. When he talks about his early experiences in the College’s drama department, the enthusiasm is unmistakable. “The drama department at Dulwich is so brilliant,” he says. “Doing the House Drama was my first experience of creating work myself, which is something I’m still addicted to. It’s probably one of my favourite elements of what I do.” That appetite for invention ‑ for building characters, worlds, and jokes from scratch ‑ has shaped every chapter of his career so far. But the journey hasn’t been a straight line. It’s been a collage of theatre, sketch comedy, clowning, directing, producing, and now a flourishing solo career in stand‑up. And through it all, Hamish has been guided by a simple instinct: follow whatever feels fun. Finding the Funny Hamish didn’t arrive at Dulwich as a ready‑made comedian, but the seeds were there. He remembers the exact moment he realised he could make people laugh - and that he liked it. “My first memory of realising I could be funny on stage was doing A Midsummer Night’s Dream in Year 10,” he recalls. Cast as Peter Quince, he threw himself into the role with gusto. “I had a lot of fun trying to be as funny as possible, and I remember having some success - well, at least a few people chuckled.” That early taste of laughter was followed by another formative project: the Year 13 Leavers’ video, which he created with fellow student Ed Reid (05-16). “It was probably my first experience of writing and performing sketches as opposed to theatre,” he says. “I loved it.” But even with those early sparks, Hamish didn’t immediately leap into drama school. Instead, he headed to Durham University to study Economics - a choice that, in hindsight, seems almost comically mismatched with his eventual path. “I enjoyed the course,” he says, “but I think I spent more time doing plays than going to lectures.” The real turning point came when he joined The Durham Revue, the university’s sketch comedy group. By his third year, he was its president. “That’s where I began learning to write and perform comedy,” he says. “It was a huge part of my development.” Building Something Together After graduating, Hamish joined forces with a group of Young Pleasance alumni to form the theatre company Spies Like Us. Their debut show, Our Man in Havana , sold out its run at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2017 - an impressive feat for a brand‑new company.
For Hamish, the appeal of forming a collective was both creative and practical. “The waiting ‑ around element of acting is something I struggle with,” he admits. “I’ve always found making my own work appealing as a way of having autonomy.” Working in a company also offered a sense of safety and camaraderie. “We were all learning together, so it felt less scary,” he says. “And we were genuinely interested in making stuff together.” Over the next several years, Spies Like Us grew in ambition and scale. But with growth came financial strain. “By 2023 it became too hard to finance our work,” Hamish explains. “Suddenly we had a big set, five actors, a director, a producer, a PR manager, a sound designer, a choreographer, a set designer… It all became harder and harder to execute, especially with less Arts Council funding after Covid.” The company eventually wound down - but the experience left Hamish with a sharpened sense of what he wanted next. The Leap to Stand‑Up Stand‑up had always been on his radar, but it wasn’t until the pressures of theatre production became overwhelming that he finally took the plunge. “I was attracted to the simplicity of stand‑up versus how difficult it had become to make theatre,” he says. “With comedy, I could satisfy the same itch - writing and performing - but I could write something in the morning and perform it that night.” He also relished the creative freedom. “It’s nice to have an idea and just go with it rather than having to have everyone else approve it,” he says. “And the great thing about comedy is the audience will tell you whether it works or not.” Of course, not every audience is generous. Hamish laughs when asked about tough gigs. “Oh yes, I’ve definitely done my fair share,” he says. “You learn a lot from all of them, good and bad. You learn to be comfortable in tricky atmospheres - though it’s often still not easy.” A Year at Clown School One of the most unusual - and transformative - chapters in Hamish’s journey came when he enrolled at the famed École Philippe Gaulier in France, a school known for its rigorous, eccentric, and often brutal approach to clowning. “It was absolutely insane” he says, grinning. “I decided to go incredibly impulsively - ten days before the course started.” He had been experimenting with alternative character comedy and had taken a short course with the clown
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