Fringe is intensive course in performing that costs same as an MA, singer to tell festival launch event
Frisky, aka Laura Corcoran, is to perform at this year’s Fringe
The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is a three-and-a-half week intensive course in performing that has the same value - and costs the same - as an MA, a veteran performer is to tell an audience at the official launch of this year’s event.
Laura Corcoran, aka Frisky, one half of musical comedy double act Frisky and Mannish, who have performed at the Fringe since 2009, is to address the Fringe Society's launch event to “metaphorically cut the ribbon” of the 78th Fringe.
The event, on 1 August, will see Ms Corcoran, who is returning to Edinburgh for her solo show for the first time since 2019, also discuss the barriers faced when continuing to perform after having children - as well as addressing the issue of a skills gap in MCs who can hold the attention of an audience in an online, post-pandemic world.
She is to call for artists attending the Fringe for the first time to make the most out of the event at Fringe Central, with opportunities to observe different aspects of the arts sector, from graphic design and technical aspects of the sector.
She said: “I’m going to speak to the fact that if you’re here at all, you’ve invested in yourself to do this. I want to talk about how to make the most of it and look at some ways to change your thinking about the industry while you’re here. As a performer, you’re in a position to observe very closely at the Fringe in a way that you maybe wouldn’t have in other arts environments because of the sheer scale and quantity of work that’s here and the diversity of it, once you start to really key into other areas of the industry, you can really see how they tick.
“If you start thinking critically and being more curious and observant you can get more out of it than your own lived experience of the Fringe and get a lot and learn a lot really quickly. So I’m trying to encourage people to do that and be smart with the investment they have already made.”
She added: “Once you get your brain into a place of critical thinking, the wealth of knowledge and research that is here, I would say is equivalent to an MA and costs about the same. It’s there for you as a very intense training.”
Ms Corcoran, who began performing at the Fringe in 2004 as a student, before creating the Frisky and Mannish duo, said she had started holding courses on how to be an MC at events after industry figures had raised the issue of a lack of skills in people able to host cabaret and variety-style events.
She warned a trend for comedians and entertainers to create content online - and monetise their creative products through the internet on platforms such as TikTok - meant fewer people are able to hold the attention of a live audience.
“The pandemic was really the time when TikTok comedy took off,” she said. “It is a way of monetising it. In the industry, you’re expected to do a lot of free work before you get a sniff of paid work.
“It’s quite a specific thing to manage the energy of a room over the course of a night. You’re throwing the ball back and forth between acts and making audiences feel warm and relaxed and entertained.
“There is a real lack of it because people with skills and talent are making TikToks. They’re making online content and monetising it that way, not getting up in front of an audience.
“Even with circus performers, they’re really struggling for people with great acts. They’re super skilled performers, they can do tumbling and juggling but they don’t have an act with a context and a great arc and an aesthetic that connects to an audience directly. This connection between performer and audience is something that is already an evident skills gap.”
Ms Corcoran, who has a six year old daughter and is now based in rural France with her family, said the majority of her work comes from hosting dinner cabaret shows - and “Christmas circus” in Germany, where variety performances are more popular than in the UK.
“I make the majority of my money in Europe,” Ms Corcoran said. “There’s a huge variety scene in Germany particularly.”
A recent report from Parents and Carers in Performing Arts (PiPA) found eight out of ten women working in the arts had to cut down working hours to manage caring responsibilities.
“This isn’t only a problem at the Fringe of course, this is an industry-wide issue,” she said. “It’s become so ubiquitous, it’s become invisible and I think a big attitude shift could happen which would open a lot more doors. I should stop being the problem of just the parents and becomes a collective responsibility.”
“They say it takes a village and I think the Fringe is a village in a lot of ways and we need to look at how we can expand it into a village for families as well.”
Her solo debut show this year. Frisky’s Reshuffle, will see the audience challenge Frisky and her four-piece band to play any song in any style, from samba to skiffle, Mötley Crüe to Mongolian throat singing.
Chris Snow, head of artist services at the Festival Fringe Society, said: “The Edinburgh Festival Fringe artist address is a key moment for artists to gather, meet each other, and celebrate the start of the 2025 festival. It also marks the opening of Fringe Central, our support hub for artists, industry and media.
“We’re delighted that Frisky is able to join us this year to share her personal journey and experiences at the Fringe, and know that the address will be a real treat.”
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