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Frisky & Mannish

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Frisky & Mannish
Background information
OriginLondon, England
GenresCabaret, Comedy, Parody music, Pastiche, Pop music, Popular culture
Years active2008–present
MembersLaura Corcoran, Frisky
Matthew Floyd Jones, Mannish
Websitefriskyandmannish.co.uk

Frisky & Mannish is a British musical comedy double act, created and performed by singer Laura Corcoran and pianist-singer Matthew Floyd Jones.[1] Known for their pop music parodies, the duo have toured the fringe festival and comedy festival circuits in the United Kingdom and Australia,[2] and appeared on a number of British television and radio programmes.[3][4][5][6]

The act's name derives from two incidental characters mentioned in one couplet of Byron's Don Juan: "Lady Fitz-Frisky, and Miss Maevia Mannish, / Both longed extremely to be sung in Spanish" (Canto XI, LIII.)[7]

Background

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Jones was born in south-west London and brought up in Surrey, whilst Corcoran hails from Greater Manchester.[8][9] They first met as undergraduates at Oxford University and began a partnership writing comic songs for the student sketch troupe The Oxford Revue.[10] After graduating, they moved into a shared flat in London.[11]

On 5 March 2008, at a music hall-themed fundraiser on a barge in Battersea, Corcoran and Jones decided to "mess around with a few songs," and performed pastiches of "Papa Don't Preach" (as an operatic aria), "Eye of the Tiger" (in a bluegrass style), "I'd Do Anything for Love" (sung by a young child), and "Come On Eileen" (as a heartfelt ballad.)[9][10] Their performance led to a "firm booking for an hour-long show," after which the pair developed a fuller concept and "reverse-engineered some sort of coherent act into existence."[12]

Career

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Stage

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Frisky & Mannish have written, produced and performed nine shows to date, all of which have toured internationally, and a Christmas-themed show that has been presented at the West End’s Lyric Theatre and Edinburgh's Hogmanay.[7][10][13] They have headlined a number of London venues, including Shepherd's Bush Empire,[14] Noël Coward Theatre,[15] Soho Theatre,[16] Southbank Centre,[17] The Forum,[18] Bloomsbury Theatre,[19] and KOKO.[20] In Australia, they have performed at the Sydney Opera House and Sydney Cabaret Festival,[7][21] Adelaide Cabaret Festival and Adelaide Fringe,[22][23] Melbourne International Comedy Festival,[24] and Fringe World in Perth.[25] They have also toured to New Zealand (Auckland and Wellington),[26][27] Europe (Berlin and Dublin),[16][28] Asia (Hong Kong and Singapore),[29][1] and New York City's The Slipper Room.[16]

Their first full-length show, School of Pop (2009), a series of "educational" lessons developed during their monthly residency at Leicester Square Theatre,[7] was described as "the undisputed hit of the Edinburgh Fringe,"[30] garnering thirteen five-star reviews from publications such as Chortle, Edinburgh Evening News, The Herald and Time Out.[31] Their send-up of Noël Coward and Lily Allen was particularly praised.[8][32][33] Kate Nash, whose song "Foundations" they combined with Kate Bush's "Wuthering Heights", attended one of their performances.[34] At the end of the year The Independent featured Frisky & Mannish in a special "Talent 2010" issue as up-and-coming comedians, alongside other rising stars including footballer Jack Wilshere, actress Imogen Poots, politician Nick Boles, musician Eliot Sumner and broadcaster Tulip Mazumdar.[16]

A sequel entitled The College Years (2010), based around a central thesis of "collision theory,"[35] premièred at Latitude Festival,[36] and placed second (out of 2453 productions)[37] on Edinburgh Festival Guide's list of top-rated shows.[38] Pop Centre Plus (2011), the final instalment in their "Pop Education" trilogy, was launched at the udderBELLY Festival on South Bank,[34] structured as a careers advice facility.[28] In 2012 they introduced two new shows, Extra-Curricular Activities,[39] and a black comedy called 27 Club, which delved into the eponymous cultural phenomenon.[40] Just Too Much (2014) continued this darker theme, concerning itself with meltdowns in pop.[41] In 2015, inspired by the reaction to their viral short film protesting comments made by Gary Barlow on The X Factor,"[42][43] they created a variety show, Cabariot, featuring guest acts and original songs tackling a range of social issues.[44] After a short hiatus, the pair returned with a tenth anniversary show, PopLab (2019), comprising a series of scientific experiments,[45] and a post-pandemic live-digital hybrid show, PopCorn (2021), inspired by film scores.[46]

Despite originating and developing the act in cabaret, circus and variety shows, Frisky & Mannish have managed to establish themselves in stand-up comedy, regularly featured as the musical act on lineups of comedians such as Katherine Ryan,[47] Simon Brodkin,[48] Joel Dommett,[48] Josh Widdicombe,[48] Hannibal Buress,[49] Josie Long,[49] Tom Allen,[50] Margaret Cho,[50] Tim Minchin,[51] Seann Walsh,[51] Richard Herring,[52] Stewart Lee,[52] Aisling Bea,[53] Sara Pascoe,[53] Russell Howard,[6] Rose Matafeo,[6] and Frank Skinner.[6]

Radio

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In March 2011, Scott Mills featured a number of Frisky & Mannish songs on BBC Radio 1, which led to several live interviews and performances on the programme,[5][54] and to the writing and recording of "Perfect Christmas Single" (with Mills and co-host Chris Stark) for a Radio 1 Stories documentary in December 2012.[55] They also performed a set during the BBC New Comedy Awards Final 2012 at the Grand Theatre, Blackpool, hosted by Patrick Kielty and broadcast on BBC Radio 2.[56]

Their other radio appearances have included BBC Radio 1 (Matt Edmondson),[57] BBC Radio 2 (Jo Whiley),[6] BBC Radio 3 (The Verb),[58] BBC Radio 4 (Sketchorama),[59] BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC 6 Music (Lauren Laverne),[60] and BBC Radio Scotland (MacAulay and Co).[61]

Television

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In August 2011, Frisky & Mannish were featured on BBC Two's The Culture Show, performing a comic song about the art of making comic songs with contributions from Adam Kay and Isy Suttie.[3] They also appeared on children's comedy programme Dick and Dom's Funny Business (BBC Two) with Warwick Davis,[62] and variety show Comedy at the Fringe (BBC3) alongside Joe Lycett and Elis James.[63]

On the fifth series of Britain's Got Talent in 2011, contestant Edward Reid's performance of nursery rhymes to the tune of Leona Lewis's "Run" was accused of plagiarising Frisky & Mannish's "Wheels on the Bus," a nursery rhyme medley set to Girls Aloud's "Sound of the Underground".[64][65]

Reception

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Jones and Corcoran with Harry Hill

Frisky & Mannish have been called "the mad scientists of pop,"[66] performing "shrewdly crafted, expertly delivered and rapturously received observations" with "the tenacity of a Rottweiler and the charm of a Disney prince."[67] They have been positively reviewed in a number of publications such as The Daily Telegraph,[8] The Evening Standard,[68] The Guardian,[32] The Independent,[69] Metro,[70] The Observer,[33] and The West Australian,[71] although several reviewers have confessed to finding the act difficult to describe.[8][72][73] One publication referred to them as the "King and Queen of the Fringe Festival."[39] They have been acclaimed for the skill with which they perform and the cleverness of their observations,[16][74][75][76] whereas negative criticism of their act has tended to focus upon a perceived lack of depth to their material.[77][78][79]

In 2011 The Guardian identified Frisky & Mannish as a rare example of a successful mixed-gender comedy duo.[80] Other comedians who have expressed admiration for the act include Shaparak Khorsandi,[81] Ruby Wax,[82] Ed Byrne,[83] Dara Ó Briain,[83] Susan Calman,[84] and Sarah Millican.[85]

Awards

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Frisky & Mannish won an Editor's Choice Award at Brighton Fringe, a Best Comedy Award at Adelaide Fringe, and an Entertainmentwise Award at Edinburgh Festival Fringe.[86][87][88] They were runners-up in the final of Hackney Empire New Act of the Year,[89] finalists in the Musical Comedy Awards,[90] and nominees for a Chortle Award (Best Music or Variety Act),[91] Loaded LAFTA Award (Best Newcomer),[92] two Fringe World Awards, and four London Cabaret Awards.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Frisky & Mannish". Musical Comedy Guide. Retrieved 10 August 2019.
  2. ^ "Frisky & Mannish". mcintyre-ents.com. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  3. ^ a b "The Culture Show at the Edinburgh Festival". IMDb. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Three at the Fringe". IMDb. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  5. ^ a b "Frisky & Mannish perform Girls Aloud and Whigfield... sort of". BBC. 22 March 2011. Retrieved 29 March 2011.
  6. ^ a b c d e "BBC Radio 2 – Live from the Edinburgh Festivals". BBC. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  7. ^ a b c d Tripney, Natasha (13 July 2011). "Interview: Frisky & Mannish". exeuntmagazine.com.
  8. ^ a b c d Cavendish, Dominic (19 August 2010). "Edinburgh Festival 2010: Frisky and Mannish interview". The Telegraph. London.
  9. ^ a b Rudden, Liam (7 August 2009). "Interview: Laura Corcoran and Matthew Jones". Edinburgh Evening News.
  10. ^ a b c "Frisky and Mannish interview". British Comedy Guide. 11 April 2011. Retrieved 26 April 2011.
  11. ^ "Glam rocks: Meet the stars who are taking cabaret mainstream". The Independent. London. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
  12. ^ Mannish, Frisky &. (19 August 2014). "Frisky & Mannish: taking the beep out of the Pussycat Dolls". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 August 2014.
  13. ^ "Comedy cabaret duo Frisky and Mannish fulfil dream with New Year gig". Edinburgh Evening News. 29 December 2011.
  14. ^ "Frisky and Mannish at Shepherd's Bush Empire". unitedagents.co.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
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  33. ^ a b Merritt, Stephanie (23 August 2009). "Gild young Lily with a dab of Noël". The Observer. London.
  34. ^ a b Lamont, Tom (3 July 2011). "Frisky and Mannish: 'It's hard making pop music funnier than it already is'". The Guardian. London.
  35. ^ "Fringe Review – Frisky & Mannish: The College Years". Edinburgh Spotlight. August 2010.
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  47. ^ "United Comedy Festive Warm-Up!". United Agents. 11 May 2009.
  48. ^ a b c "Three@TheFringe". British Comedy Guide. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
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  70. ^ Smith, Damon (5 August 2011). "Voguing all the way to the Fringe" Metro.
  71. ^ Bahr, Jacqui (11 February 2011). "Review: Frisky and Mannish/The List Operators". The West.
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