Fuccbois on their satirical boyband concert: ‘We had some actual fuckboys attend’
Railing against toxic masculinity, Fuccbois are a quartet of parody performers disguised as an all-conquering boyband. Danny Munro meets the foursome to talk about endings and how to tackle bad men in the wild
The Fuccbois are breaking up. Once the biggest boyband in the world, the four-piece are calling it a day and they’ve decided Edinburgh is the place to end it all. Here for 24 nights (and 24 nights only), Fringe-goers have the chance to catch the frosted tips that drove crowds wild in Adelaide and Melbourne, before the group splinters off into solo careers of, no doubt, varying success.
'Fuccbois: Live In Concert is a big comedy boyband concert extravaganza,’ explains Bridie Connell who wrote the show and stars as Brandon, one quarter of the toxic pop group. ‘It follows them into their final ever show. And it all slowly falls apart because we get to see their rivalries and egos as they sort of derail the entire thing.’ A satirical jab at the modern dating world and the straight men who reside in it, this drag king spectacular sees Brendan (Vidya Makan), Brandon (Connell), Tyler (Megan Walshe) and Also Brendan (Clara Harrison) deliver an hour of original music while reflecting some of the worst traits Connell encountered while navigating ‘the apps’.
‘I started writing it in 2019 and I’d just had a real run of encountering fuckboys in the wild at weddings and on dates,’ recalls Connell of the inspiration behind this musical. ‘Everywhere I looked they were there with some sort of new crazy behaviour. I was up to my neck in it, and was like, “nope, I’ve had enough”. And so the only way I deal with my problems is to write satirical songs.’
Though The Fuccbois are a parody group, Harrison was taken aback by the genuine fanfare they generated during the show’s first run at the Adelaide Fringe earlier this year. ‘I think because we play the whole show as if it is a big stadium spectacular, we really see the audience as our super fans. And as the season continued and we got a bit of press and chatter, audiences really did sort of play the character of fans. People dressed up and made posters!’
‘We had some actual fuckboys attend as well,’ adds Walshe. ‘It was fun to watch the reactions because they got read for filth, and I don’t think they ever thought they would.’ This Fringe run marks an Edinburgh debut for the Aussie troupe, which is particularly exciting for Harrison who spent the first decade of her life in Elgin before moving down under. ‘We like to call our fans the “fuck buddies’’,’ Harrison smiles. ‘We can’t wait to meet our Scottish fuck buddies!’
Fuccbois: Live In Concert, Assembly George Square Studios, 5–31 August, 5.05pm.