Married Second City comedy duo Matt Baram and Naomi Snieckus “Baram and Snieckus” are heading to the Edinburgh Fringe this Summer with their deeply personal comedy and storytelling show Big Stuff, which has been co-created with their Director Kat Sandler. Focusing on the items people leave behind after loss or change and their wider meaning, this is a theatre piece where each performance is unique, with audience members having the opportunity to share their own “Big Stuff” with Matt and Naomi in the performance. I recently had the opportunity to ask the pair some questions about the show, which has toured across Canada.
How did you get into comedy, storytelling and improvisation?
Matt: I started improvising in Edmonton with Rapid Fire Theatre when it was just getting going. We were creating a new sketch show every week, playing TheatreSports, and really diving into Keith Johnstone-style improv. I found my people.
When I moved to Toronto, I discovered the Viola Spolin approach at Second City, and it completely changed my life. That’s also where I met Naomi.
Naomi: Well… technically I crashed the auditions. Second City wouldn’t even see me, so I flew from Vancouver to Toronto and just showed up anyway. After my audition, the Producers literally ran down the street after me to say they were interested.
Matt: That’s because you left your purse in the waiting room.
Naomi: That is also true. I always joke that I originally took improv to get better at making things up on the spot.
Matt: Sounds slightly criminal.
Naomi: I spent my younger years hanging around a few questionable characters, so being able to think fast came in handy.
Matt: She told me it was to sharpen her storytelling skills.
Naomi: You say “storytelling.” I say “survival.”
Matt: I took improv to meet women.
Naomi: And you actually met… WOMAN. So somehow… it worked.
What inspired you to create a show about the items loved ones leave behind?
Naomi: We’d spent most of our careers creating improvised theatre. The shows were magical, but they disappeared the moment they were over. We wanted to create something that could last.
Around the same time, we were processing a huge period in our lives. We lost the last of our parents, and, like a lot of artists, we worked through that grief by making something. The more we talked about sorting through our parents’ belongings, the more people would immediately say, “Oh… I know exactly what you mean”. That’s when we realized this wasn’t just our story.
In Big Stuff you play versions of yourselves. How much comes from real life?
Matt: The biggest discovery was how differently we deal with stuff. Naomi keeps everything. I throw everything away. I’d put something in the garbage, turn around… and somehow it would be sitting back in the house again like a jump scare in a horror movie.
As we started digging through our parents’ belongings, I realized my instinct to let go might actually be a defence mechanism. Naomi simply needs more time to process. I think every couple has a “Matt” and a “Naomi.”
Naomi: Not literally. We’re not inviting people into a throuple.
Matt: The funny thing is that the debate hasn’t ended. If it were up to me, we’d own one chair and we’d share it.
Naomi: I’ve actually started moving a little more toward Matt’s side. I’m getting better at letting things go. Ironically, though, this show has made us collect even more stuff.
Matt: The props we travel with are all objects I originally wanted to throw away. And because we were worried the airline might lose them…
Naomi: …we bought doubles. So the show about letting go has actually doubled our possessions.
Audience members share their own “Big Stuff.” Is there one moment that has stayed with you?
Matt: There was one audience member who wrote “wet specimens”. Naturally, we asked what that meant. We instantly regretted asking.
The explanation involved jars… bones… medical specimens… At a certain point we both wondered if we’d accidentally become witnesses in a true-crime documentary.
Naomi: My favourite was a man who wrote that he still had his grandmother’s piano. She had taught him to play on it, and now he was teaching his own child on that same piano.
We asked what his favourite song was. He said Your Song by Elton John. We asked if he’d sing a few bars. Instead, the entire audience gently joined in. It became this beautiful spontaneous moment where complete strangers were supporting someone they’d only just met. That’s what this show does.
How have audiences reacted to Big Stuff across Canada?
Naomi: Terribly. Things have been thrown. Posters have been defaced.
No… honestly, it’s been incredibly moving. This show isn’t really about boxes or basements. It’s about the love that’s left behind after someone is gone.
When my father died, someone asked me, “What was he like?”. It was such a gift because it gave me permission to keep talking about him. That’s what audiences have been doing across the country – telling stories about the people they love.
Matt: We’ve also been collecting photos people send us of their own “big stuff.” Old teddy bears. Family heirlooms. Strange homemade decorations. Occasionally… wet specimens. It’s become this beautiful collection of stories from across Canada.
What do you hope Edinburgh audiences take away from the performance?
Matt: Ideally… Our stuff. Please take our stuff home.
Naomi: Honestly, I hope people leave carrying someone else’s story.
Matt: People have come up to us months later and told me they were listening to jazz and suddenly thought about Naomi’s dad, even though they’d never met him. Or they’ve quoted one of my father’s lines back to me. Those stories keep travelling.
Naomi: That’s what I hope happens. That audiences leave with stories that aren’t just ours anymore. They become theirs.
Catch Big Stuff at the 2026 festival
I am sure every couple can appreciate the difference of opinion over keeping items and throwing them away. It is also wonderful that the pair would like the stories shared to travel and have a life beyond the Fringe. It really highlights how personal a show Big Stuff is. The show is based at Roxyboxy at Assembly Roxy (venue 139) from 5th – 30th August (not 11th). Performances start at 14:55 (1 hour), with the show on sale via the EdFringe website now.
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