Frisky and Mannish brought their unique act to Lincoln’s Drill Hall on Saturday, October 6th, as part of the Lincoln Comedy Festival.
The comedy duo, who have previously performed in Lincoln, perform mash-ups and parodies of popular music tracks. Having already embarked on three tours, their latest tour, “Extra-Curricular Activities,” is a mixture of content, old and new.
Taking to the stage in bizarre, funky outfits and over the top make-up, the double act began the show with a pop quiz, singing a couple of notes from a song and asking members of the audience to choose between multiple options. The Lincoln crowd didn’t get off to the best start, answering all three questions incorrectly.
Nevertheless, it wasn’t long before the audience were on their feet, copying the dance moves as dictated by Frisky (Laura Corcoran) and Mannish (Matthew Floyd Jones). If the onlookers hadn’t already guessed it, they were in for an interesting night of entertainment.
As Frisky and Mannish got into their stride, the duo managed to go from one extreme to another in a matter of minutes. One minute they were performing a Bee Gees version of Rihanna’s “Rude Boy,” while the next they were singing a grime version of Karen Carpenter’s “Top of the World.”
The duo’s impersonations of the artists went down a treat with the onlookers, as they mimicked the likes of Caggie Dunlop and Millie Mackintosh from reality television programme, “Made in Chelsea” and revealed the techniques that Kelly Clarkson uses to construct such deep introspective lyrics – one of the stronger parodies.
Frisky and Mannish also performed make belief scenarios, such as Dannii Minogue dueting with fellow-Australian Gotye in a more upbeat version of “Somebody That I Used to Know” and how Lana Del Rey met her mentor.
After a number of volunteers from the audience completed a conga from the Drill Hall, the duo concluded with their “scripted encore” and brilliant finale, the “Stalker Medley.” The medley consisted of a number of well-known songs, including The Bangle’s – “Eternal Flame,” S Club – “Never Had A Dream Come True” and Stevie Wonder – “I Just Called to Save I Love You.” It was a great way to end an enjoyable evening.
While there’s no doubting Frisky and Mannish’s talent and ability to make people laugh, one of the main problems with the performance was that it required a certain amount of pop knowledge for the references to be truly understood. Audience members who weren’t acquainted with the likes of Made in Chelsea or Kelly Clarkson simply sat bewildered.
Nevertheless, Frisky and Mannish – Extra-Curricular Activities was an enjoyable show that left the audience with a changed outlook on the artists and songs that dominate our charts. This won’t be the last we see of the comedy duo.