Bristol, 1348. The Black Death is two days from sealing the city, bodies are being carted through the mud, and a desperate merchant needs a sealed letter carried to London before the gates close. Patrick and Hugo McPherson, sketch comedy duo Pear, have three days, a horse, two silver coins, and an absolute refusal to begin the mission until the haggling is settled.

Their survival strategy for plague-era England is built on three certainties: they are six foot seven, they are Australian, and they have famously powerful bladders. Patrick plays grade-three guitar in the key of C; Hugo handstands; both refuse to drink the doctor's prescribed remedy because they know, with full historical hindsight, that the piss man is wrong.

The real 1348 was apocalyptic. Half of Europe died, peasants got rich enough to wear posh clothes, and physicians genuinely prescribed bathing in faeces.

If you were sent back in time, could you survive and thrive — or would you be burnt at the stake for being a witch? PastMaster is the show that turns history into an interactive adventure game. Each episode, a comedian is dropped into the past with nothing but modern knowledge and terrible ideas. The AI Game Master is strict. The chaos is inevitable. The past will be mastered.

Era: Medieval | 1348 CE | Bristol, England
Featuring: Patrick & Hugo McPherson — sketch duo Pair (Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Show nominee 2025, four sold-out Fringe runs)

EPISODE LINKS

Follow Pair's adventure on the PastMaster Interactive Map 👉 https://map.pastmasterpod.com

Pear: Instagram @hugopatrickpear

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