Young Maltese comedians Tim Borg and Andrew John Sciberras have built a loyal following over the past year and are now set to take their double act, Tim & Andrew Make Out (Platonically), on stage.
The show is a hybrid of stand-up comedy and mock dating advice that thrives on audience participation. For the first time, they are bringing it to the Manoel’s Studio Theatre – a move they describe as both exciting and significant for Malta’s growing comedy scene.
The concept began, fittingly, with romantic failure.
“We realised we’re very incompetent when it comes to our love lives,” Andrew laughs. “Tim had just come out of a relationship, I was perpetually single, and we thought it would be funny to act as dating gurus”. What started as online sketches quickly evolved into a live show. “We did longer sets, then took questions from the audience, giving advice either to the best or worst of our abilities, depending on the mood. The first show was in January, and we kept doing it throughout the whole year pretty well.”
At its core, the show is about laughing at life’s messiness.
“Dating and relationships – it’s what most people talk about daily,” Andrew explains. “Also life is cruel and love is a lie. By laughing at ourselves, we give the audience permission to laugh at their own situations too.”
The format is simple: in the first half, Tim and Andrew each perform stand-up sets, joined by guest comedians. The second half is unscripted, built around questions submitted by the audience. “We’ve had everything from ‘Can you be friends with your ex?’ to ‘Which comes first, sex or holding hands?’” Tim says. “It gets weirdly polarising – people are very set in their opinions.”
Sometimes the confessions go even further.
“On Valentine’s Day, a guy admitted he was paying for his girlfriend’s therapy – but she was spending the money on something completely different instead,” Andrew recalls. “Moments like that come out because we make ourselves vulnerable on stage. Once the audience sees we have no clue what we’re doing, they open up too. It creates this atmosphere where everyone feels part of the show.”
That atmosphere, they believe, will translate perfectly to Manoel’s Studio Theatre.
“It’s an intimate setting – 60 or 80 people, which makes it ideal,” Andrew says. “In a big space you can’t carry a conversation, but in the studio it feels like we’re all friends. Having Manoel invite us is exciting because for a long time there’s been this idea that stand-up is a low art form. Some theatres won’t touch it. So the fact that Manoel is producing this with us shows that comedy is being taken seriously.”
The audience plays its part in shaping the night and some creative queries include “What’s the Maltese equivalent of Netflix and chill?” (an audience member memorably suggested Serkin u pastizzi).
For Tim and Andrew the project is about more than laughs. It’s about building a scene. “We’ve created a community where people come to our shows, then go to see other comedians” Andrew explains. “We give stage time to new comedians and longer sets than they’d normally get, which helps everyone improve. It’s about growing stand-up in Malta.”
As for their own partnership, the secret is no secret at all. “We’re just really good friends,” Tim says. “Most of the time it feels like we’re just having the same silly arguments we’d have on a Friday night – only now with an audience.”
And they’re not slowing down. Alongside their Manoel run, the pair are heading to the Barcelona Fringe Festival with fellow comedian John Baluci for a new show, 1.75 Men, exploring masculinity through three very different stand-up styles. After that, they plan to regroup for 2026 with new ideas.
Tim & Andrew Make Out (Platonically) offers Maltese audiences something unique: a chance to laugh at love, share their own stories and maybe even leave with questionable dating advice – at their own risk.
Catch the pair performing on October 30 and November 6 and 13 at Studio Theatre, the Manoel Theatre.