Laura Corcoran and Matthew Floyd Jones. Heard of them? Chances are that if we used their monikers of Frisky and Mannish, bells will start clanging. For those unaware of the musical comedy duo’s Edinburgh Fringe reputation, they gained critical infamy and audience praise from 2009 onwards for turning pop songs and power ballads into a blazing riot of commentary, snarky comebacks and some rather trippy genre mash-ups. They bucked the trend and served to entice both general audiences and aficionados through a glitter-induced explosion of Disneyfied charm and diva rebellion. So why change things up?

It’s been six years since Corcoran and Floyd Jones have been to the Fringe together, but they’ve still been here working independently. Fans of the hit Kathy And Stella Solve A Murder! will be familiar with the proficiency of Floyd Jones’ scoring and musical direction, while Corcoran’s directorial work and MC abilities have been lashed with dollops of bedlam and wit. So, was it a bitter rivalry which separated these punky geniuses, sending tabloids frothing? Or, in the way that Floyd Jones describes the Edinburgh Fringe juggernaut as ‘regenerative,’ are they merely following suit? 

It’s a notion that Floyd Jones and Fringe partner for 2025, Jess Robinson, return to in chatting about their show. ‘I think what’s great with what Laura is doing, and what we’re doing, is that both of those things are new projects with new people,’ states Floyd Jones. ‘After a certain number of years, you do want to do something else, just for the variety of it, and it keeps you fresh.’ It’s a renewed opportunity too for the multi-talented icon, impressionist, voice actor and performer Robinson, who’s working with Floyd Jones on Your Song. Robinson describes the show as ‘a love letter to Elton John and the fabulous female voices living in my head. I’m going to reinterpret and reimagine all of Elton’s greatest hits through the voices of women like Kate Bush, Barbra Streisand and Shakira.’

And if audiences want to skip the 20 or so feet across George Square Gardens following Robinson’s show, they can then dip into something more familiar, Corcoran tapping into the next cycle of their character’s lifestyle: to exorcise (and celebrate) their demons once more with Frisky’s Reshuffle. This will be a performance which Corcoran describes as ‘Frisky unleashed! For those who saw Frisky & Mannish, we were very scripted and very structured. We were very tight and slick, and that was intentional. In this situation, I’m a recovering perfectionist.’

For Floyd Jones, it was necessary to break from the character; for Corcoran, the initial cut came with pangs of loss. ‘I grieved the end of it. I was not ready to say goodbye.’ Corcoran phrases it touchingly, an insight into the pair’s camaraderie, discussing how Floyd Jones was the ‘actor’ while Corcoran was the ‘entertainer. Frisky has always been much more a part of me carved out and put somewhere. Frisky is the frustrated party girl in me.’ Floyd Jones expands on how Mannish had ‘nothing to do with me. In a way, Mannish is who he needs to be to counteract Frisky; when I see old videos, I think that’s not me at all. And I think that’s why I’ve loved transitioning into being the role I am now.’

So, is this the year of Frisky vs Mannish? Absolutely not. But, while the pair retain their professional responses of ‘never say never,’ there’s a sign that, as the Fringe attempts to regenerate, so have they. Corcoran reflects on how she’s gone from ‘Frisky the red to Frisky the pink.’

Perhaps surprisingly, Floyd Jones had more to add on the idea of the pair’s future. ‘Maybe there will be some kind of new variation of Frisky & Mannish which suits people in their 40s. Because that’s the other thing: it felt like such a young person’s act. At the time when we met one another, it was organic to put on glittery things and be campy, weird and punky, and it had this energy that I don’t know if we still possess. If we ever did a show again, it wouldn’t be the same. It would have a new maturity to it. So, I wonder, if maybe, before I die… one more.’

Frisky’s Reshuffle, Assembly George Square Gardens, 30 July–24 August, 9.55pm; Jess Robinson: Your Song, Assembly George Square Gardens, 30 July–24 August, 6.05pm; main picture: Jiksaw.