The ease of Anna Leong Brophy and Emily Lloyd-Saini’s friendship is evident in our evening chat over Zoom. As Leong Brophy notes, ‘we should have had wine’. That relationship is very much a driving force behind their latest sketch show Absolutely Fine. Though both are working actors, the last couple of years have taken Anna to Netflix and Emily to motherhood, but they’ve carved out time and space to present another EGG show. 

It’s their third after 2016’s EGG: Static and 2018’s Richard Pictures, and one that has their renewed connection at its core, cultivated after time spent apart. ‘We were struggling to see each other but you can’t shortcut making shows about being really close and bonded, vulnerable and raw with each other,’ says Leong Brophy. ‘By making the work, you have to do the life stuff to get there.’
But having reunited, something special happened with that bond. ‘We were so surprised when we started working together again after nearly three years off from doing any live stuff,’ Lloyd-Saini explains. ‘We were just having loads of silly fun, the dynamic between the two of us had changed, but in this lovely way where we go, “oh, this is who we are, this is who we are in this show”. It just got better. It’s become apparent to us both that a lot has changed, actually. And that’s also a wonderful thing.’

Out of this renewed energy sprung a fresh confidence in their creative process too, as Leong Brophy elaborates. ‘In years gone by, we would have a torturous writing process. This time it was just like, “what is the stupid joke that Emily just told me that is really making me lie on the floor, laughing my ass off?” Back in the day, we would go, “OK, well, that’s enough of that. Let’s do some work”. And now we’re like, “oh, this is the work”. We should just follow our nose and just follow this really, really stupid thing.’ Lloyd-Saini picks up on the point: ‘we couldn’t have made the show at any other time. And I love the dynamic between onstage Anna and Emily now. We know each other inside and out.’
The pair met while both performing in BattleActs!, the improv group that Leong Brophy created, but were particularly drawn to each other when they discovered they shared a similar irreverent sense of humour. ‘Years into BattleActs!, we were at the Edinburgh Fringe and Josie Long was doing a gig,’ recalls Lloyd-Saini. ‘She told a joke about toast; I burst out laughing and Anna burst out laughing. And the whole audience laughed, and then moved on. And then about five minutes later, I looked at Anna and she’s still laughing at the toast thing. And I thought, “she’s my people”!’

EGG: Absolutely Fine, Pleasance Courtyard, 14–27 August, 4.50pm.