He who holds the microphone creates the sound that controls the universe.
As far as premises go, there have been simpler ones. But, given the longevity of the Umbilical Brothers' career, clearly many people get their unique brand of comedy.
Shane Dundas comprises one half of the duo, the other being younger "brother" David Collins.
In Don't Explain, the show the Australian comedians are about to bring to New Zealand, it is Dundas who often gains control of said microphone.
Hence it seems fitting it is his voice on the telephone from Canberra, a place he likens to a "movie with too few extras".
Canberra is also home to Dundas' girlfriend and the couple's dog who, the performer notes, is in great shape.
Certainly, the canine has no need for the glucosamine tablets Dundas takes to preserve joints that come under regular strain as a result of the Umbilical Brothers' physically rigorous shows.
They may be comedians, but they do far more than stand up and deliver killer lines.
Their comedy is a modern, highly original twist on mime, involving cartoon arms races, hilarious Germans, children's entertainment gone awry, kung fu insects and tap-dancing cowboys.
Dundas describes their brand of humour as a mix of the observational, an approach often employed by stand-up comedians, applied to slapstick routines.
Childhood instincts are thrown in with tightly edited details.
There is also a nod to modern media techniques, such as slow-motion sequences and television highlights packages, all of which are acted at various speeds by the pair.
"Self-reflective humour is what I really like," Dundas says.
"You're making fun of yourself, of the actual form you're watching. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a movie director.
"In a way, we are directing our own movies on stage. We can freeze, rewind, whatever, but we just have to physically do it . . . because we're not a movie."
He pauses for effect: "We're humans. We love playing with people's perceptions of media, because we are all so media-savvy now. You just have to do one quick reference and everyone knows what you're talking about.
"We are jacks of all trades. We are really not tap-dancers, but when you are making your own tap-dancing noises into a microphone, you can get away with a lot."
Though they are brothers in name only, the umbilical reference does reflect a typical sibling rivalry, Dundas says.
"It's like two brothers trying to outdo each other. I tend to be the older brother in this show and he is the younger brother trying to gain control of the universe, and the universe is created through the microphone."
There is also a close bond between the pair, who first met in 1988 while attending acting classes in western Sydney.
"It started as a joke. We were making fun of the mime classes," Dundas explains.
"Everyone laughed at it. We thought, 'Jeez, everyone is laughing'. Our school participated in an international performance festival in Milwaukee and we tried out our routine - we only had one - and they all laughed.
"We thought we should keep working on this. It was a happy accident. So then we'd perform at comedy clubs, there would be a bunch of stand-ups then us, and we were an alternative to what people were watching."
Since then, the Umbilical Brothers, described by Time Out New York as "Australia's hottest export since Vegemite", have roamed the world.
Regulars at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the duo now utilise four different shows: Don't Explain, Heaven By Storm, The Rehearsal and Speedmouse.
In an incarnation known as Thwak, the pair performed for a year off Broadway in 1999, with the show nominated for a Drama Desk Award for "Most Unique Theatrical Entertainment".
The duo then took the show on the road, touring the United States, Canada and Europe.
They have also appeared on various television shows, including The Late Show, Rove Live and The Side Show, as well as being invited to the Royal Variety Performance.
"Someone saw us in Edinburgh and said, 'you'd be perfect for the Queen'," Dundas says.
"We said, 'a queen or the Queen?' "It turned out to be the Queen and after the show we did the hand-shaking thing.
"I thought, 'this is the Queen, not someone in a costume'. She was a lovely little lady with silver hair and white gloves. It was one of those surreal moments."
A recently released DVD of Don't Explain, filmed at the Athenaeum Theatre, Melbourne, captures the duo in full flight.
Fun to watch, it also reveals the fun Dundas and Collins clearly have on stage together.
At times they barely keep it together. Yet, given the energetic nature of the shows, discipline is required.
The secret? "Very careful structuring and unpredictable energy," Dundas says.
"The audience has no idea what is coming up next."
