“The mad scientists of pop, mixing unlikely solutions from incompatible artists and distilling entire genres into their separate elements with the tenacity of a Rottweiler and the charm of a Disney prince.”
A musical comedy double act formed in 2008.
Written, arranged, performed, designed, directed and produced by MFJ & Laura Corcoran.
MAJOR CREDITS:
London:
Lyric Theatre, Noël Coward Theatre, Shepherd’s Bush Empire, KOKO, The Forum, Hippodrome, Southbank Centre, Soho Theatre, Battersea Arts Centre, Bloomsbury Theatre, Riverside Studios, London Wonderground, Café de Paris, Clapham Grand, Leicester Square Theatre, Spiegeltent Cavendish Square, Lovebox, Greenwich Comedy Festival
UK & Eire:
Edinburgh (Fringe, International TV Festival & Hogmanay), Cardiff (Wales Millennium Centre), Dublin (Samuel Beckett Theatre & Fringe), Manchester (Pride & Lowry), Brighton (Dome), Blackpool (Grand), Glastonbury Festival, Bestival & Camp Bestival, Latitude Festival, T in the Park Festival, Beat-Herder Festival, Cornbury Festival, Innocent Un-plugged Festival, Milton Keynes International Festival, Somersault Festival, Kinsale Arts Festival, Hull Freedom Festival, Norfolk & Norwich Festival, Canterbury Festival, Henley Festival, Coventry City of Culture 2021, 9 UK Tours
International:
Sydney (Opera House, Seymour Centre & Factory Theatre), Adelaide (Festival Centre & Fringe), Perth (Fringe World), Melbourne (Comedy Festival), New Zealand (Arts Festival & Auckland Live), New York (Slipper Room), Berlin (ufaFabrik & Scheinbar), Singapore (Howl at the Moon), Hong Kong (Central Harbourfront) & Gibraltar (John Mackintosh Hall)
Radio:
BBC Radio 1 (Scott Mills, The Perfect Christmas Single, Matt Edmondson, Gemma Cairney), BBC Radio 2 (Jo Whiley, The Arts Show with Claudia Winkleman, New Comedy Awards), BBC Radio 3 (The Verb), BBC Radio 4 (Sketchorama, Comedy Club with Andi Osho), BBC Radio 5 (Sarah Brett), BBC 6 Music (Lauren Laverne, Shaun Keaveny), BBC Radio 7 (Comedy Club), BBC World Service (World Today), BBC Radio Scotland (Fred McAulay & Co.)
TV:
BBC2 (The Culture Show), BBC3 (Live at the Fringe), CBBC (Dick & Dom’s Funny Business), BBC Scotland (The Edinburgh Show), ITV (Text Santa), London Live (Evening Show), STV (The Hour), Sky (Sky News), ThreeNZ (The Café)
Short film:
Too Cabaret: A Message for Gary Barlow (viral)
Podcast:
The Frisky & Mannish Podcast (#1 on iTunes Comedy Chart)
SELECTED PRESS & REVIEWS:
“Nothing short of astonishing” ★★★★★ Adelaide Advertiser
“What can I say?… Inspired” ★★★★★ British Theatre Guide
“There just aren’t enough superlatives to describe the experience” ★★★★★ Broadway Baby
“Dazzlingly bright” ★★★★★ Edinburgh Spotlight
“Their energy is electric” ★★★★★ FreshAir
“The undisputed hit of the Edinburgh Fringe” ★★★★★ The Herald
“They might some day eclipse the pop stars they're parodying” ★★★★★ The List
“A gold-star masterclass” ★★★★★ Mail on Sunday
“Words almost fail me” ★★★★★ One4Review
“Just plain wonderful” ★★★★★ The Skinny
“Will send a chill down your spine” ★★★★★ Three Weeks
“Fully blown superstars” ★★★★★ Time Out
“Clever, inventive, polished, prodigiously talented and extremely funny” ★★★★★ Time Out Sydney
“A must-see hour of perfect musical comedy” ★★★★★ West End Wilma
“Devastatingly clever” ★★★★ Arts Hub
“A blazing glory” ★★★★ Edinburgh Festivals Magazine
“Blissful, cavorting revelry”★★★★ Fest
“Deliriously entertaining” ★★★★ The Independent
“Outlandishly funny” ★★★★ The Mail
“Constantly evolving” ★★★★ Metro
“Outstanding” ★★★★ The Observer
“Serious musical skills and terrific comic touch” ★★★★ The Scotsman
“Triumphant” ★★★★ The Stage
“Exceptional” ★★★★ Voice Mag
“A force of nature” ★★★★ West Australian
“You won’t want to be anywhere else” The Guardian
“Like a cold shower in a hot disco” New Zealand Herald
“Unbelievable” The Sun
“Superb and uncontrollable” Sunday Times
“Delivered with such glittering panache” The Telegraph
“A global phenomenon” The Times
“This is pure exhilarating brilliance… The artfulness and attitude with which they do it is irresistibly impressive… A simple catalogue of what they do cannot, however, do justice to the brilliant juxtapositions, which are elevated way above the gimmick. Instead they are given devious, often misdirecting, set-ups – so the laugh of recognition when the audience figures out exactly what’s going on is heightened – and expertly executed. The pace is invigorating, too. No spoof outstays its welcome, and songs twist and turn in unexpected directions to maintain the freshness… All this is topped off by the larger-than-life performances of this hugely charismatic duo, which sweep you up into their outrageous world… Never sounding a duff note, this is an utter blast from start to all-too-soon finish.” ★★★★★ Chortle
“Meet Frisky and Mannish… Together they form a comedy cabaret duo so deliriously entertaining, one hard-bitten critic was moved to declare: ‘If you don't enjoy this, you have no soul.’ The show which drew this breathless praise, alongside a cluster of five-star reviews at this year's Edinburgh Fringe, was School of Pop, a glorious hour which saw the pair sing and play their way through ‘twisted’ musical parodies.”
‘The Comedians, Frisky & Mannish’ The Independent
“Led by Frisky and Mannish and a glorious array of disreputable types, the cabaret world's hugely entertaining video riposte to Gary Barlow and other X Factor judges who use the word "cabaret" as a term of abuse seems to be becoming a YouTube hit… Cabaret is not for the has-beens but for those forging the future. No wonder it's attracting some of our brightest, most entrepreneurial and most talented producers and performers.”
’What cabaret can teach traditional theatre’ The Guardian
“The moment I first got sold on Frisky and Mannish came during their riotous debut Edinburgh show last year, when they brought together on stage Lily Allen and Noël Coward… You could say the head-on impact of Noël meeting Lily was like the showbiz equivalent of the Large Hadron Collider. It felt as if it had not only the capacity to cause uncontrollable ripples of laughter but also to rip apart the fabric of pop itself.”
‘Interview: Frisky & Mannish’ The Telegraph
“Novelty singles gave this art form [musical comedy] a bad rap but acts such as Flight of the Conchords and Frisky and Mannish have brought it countercultural cachet.”
‘Forget the Funky Gibbon: how musical comedy went from square to hip’ The Guardian
“Arch and artful, flamboyant and funny, [Frisky & Mannish’s] comedy-cabaret fusion brightened the year.”
‘The best laughs of 2010: From Bo Burnham to Frisky & Mannish, an exciting new generation made itself heard’ The Telegraph
“What's unusual about F&M… is that they're a male-female live comedy double act… From Flight of the Conchords to French and Saunders, single-sex double acts are everywhere – but Frisky and Mannish show that more should cross the gender divide.”
‘Where are comedy’s male-female double acts?’ The Guardian
AWARDS:
☆ Adelaide Fringe Weekly Award, Best Comedy
☆ Entertainmentwise Award, Best Comedy
☆ FringeGuru Editor’s Choice Award
☆ The Guardian “Bring Me Sunshine” Award
☆ Edinburgh Festival Guide’s Top Rated Shows 2010 (2nd place)
☆ Hackney Empire New Act of the Year 2010 (3rd place)
☆ Chortle Award, Best Music or Variety Act (nominees)
☆ Loaded LAFTA Award, Best Newcomer (nominees)
☆ Fringe World Award, Best Cabaret (nominees)
☆ London Cabaret Awards, Best Musical Variety Act & Audience Award (nominees)
☆ Leicester Comedy Festival Award, Best New Show (nominees)
☆ Musical Comedy Award (finalists)
Technical & production management by Baz Hilton. Co-productions with Underbelly & Assembly. Touring management by Christian Knowles, Phil McIntyre Entertainments, Sharon Burgess & RBM Comedy. Artwork & images by Rosie Collins, Magnus Hastings, Idil Sukan, Annabel Staff, Aemen Sukkar for Jiksaw, Dominic Moriarty, Ayesha Hussain, Tom Kennedy, Chris Scott, James Baster, Richard Walshe, Fraser Cameron, James Millar, BBC Radio 2 & Sydney Cabaret Festival.