COMEDY
****

Laura Corcoran and Matthew Floyd Jones return to the Edinburgh fringe as their alter egos Frisky and Mannish to complete the trilogy of productions with Pop Centre Plus.

Essentially the premise this time around is that Frisky and the gorgeous Mannish have taken it on themselves to open a centre to turn random nobodies in pop stars using their tried and tested series of tests and tasks with hilarious effects. Their ability to take known songs from the charts and the back catalogue of famous pop stars and make them something completely different is a unique talent. So cheesy dance numbers like “Saturday night” become power ballads and the Carpenters are given a new lease of life thanks to N-Dubz. The songsters build to a finale were they put together their own boy band with a little audience help ensuring the audience leave on a high.

What Frisky and Mannish do in terms of their show is being done by several other acts but what sets them apart is the infectious charm they present in their clearly defined characters that are so different from who Corcoran and Floyd Jones are in real life. The humour is topical but never offensive and their enjoyment of performing comes across from the stage to the audience. They are endlessly watchable and the hour long slot doesn’t seem long enough – I could watch them all night. As long as they continue to allow the act to grow greater heights lie ahead for them. For me personally I could sit and watch Mannish for hours alone so don’t miss out on seeing the Pop Centre Plus before the festival ends and life seems just that little bit duller again.