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Frisky and Mannish: Pop Centre Plus
Published on Friday, 19 August 2011
5

5 stars

Udderbelly's Pasture (venue website)
Comedy
3-7, 9-14, 16-21, 23-28 Aug, 9:30pm-10:30pm
Reviewed by Rachel Hartley-Davison

 Recommended for age 14+ only.

If you haven’t experienced the comedy juggernaut that is Frisky & Mannish, you really should sign on to their Pop Centre Plus.  You'll claim the full benefit of this ridiculously talented pair, who cram every second of their show with top-notch comedy-cabaret entertainment.

Frisky & Mannish are a larger-than-life duo who up the ante year after year at the Fringe.  Pop Centre Plus follows on from previous incarnations: they bombarded the festival for the first time in 2009 with School of Pop, and followed up with The College Years in 2010.  The self-styled pop educators are now determined to make stars of us all, and in the process poke delightful fun at the ‘icons’ of pop today.

From the second the lights go up, the atmosphere is electric. As they launch into the first pop mashup, their re-hashing of familiar songs with the theme of ‘work’ goes down superbly. Their musical talents are showcased perfectly throughout the following sets, but there is an equally strong comedy element and I left the Udderbelly with seriously aching sides.

Frisky (Laura Corcoran) & Mannish (Matthew Floyd-Jones) proceed to tell us that they want to find gainful employment for us all. But this is no ordinary careers service – it’s like an unholy alliance between Simon Cowell and Andy Warhol.  We are sorted into groups based on hair (the ‘Razorlights’), dance skills (the ‘Elvises’) and singing talent (the ‘Madonnas’).  The duo works the crowd expertly, and the finale of their act is testament to how well the audience responds to them.

Pop stars are relentlessly lambasted, and the Madonna routine is especially clever. No avenue of pop is left unexplored - suffice to say I will never be able to listen to the Carpenter’s On Top of The World without recalling their surreal and hilarious Grime version.

So do yourself a favour, and pull up a seat in the Pop Centre Plus – expect nothing less than five star comedy and thrilling musical prowess. Encore!

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