Frisky and Mannish’s Laura Corcoran returns to Fringe World 2026 with solo debut show Frisky’s Reshuffle

Laura Corcoran was at a real turning point in her career the last time she was in Perth, exactly 10 years ago. Having reached Fringe World stardom as one half of UK musical comedy duo Frisky & Mannish with Matthew Jones, aka Mannish, Corcoran, aka Frisky, was soaking up seven weeks of solid Perth sunshine while doing a small run of the aforementioned show, alongside an extended season of legendary cabaret production La Soiree. “I was just starting to perform as Miss Frisky solo and develop her as an MC, holding together big shows,” Corcoran says from her renovated farmhouse in rural France, far from the suburbs of Manchester where she grew up. “That characterised the following years, and I started working across Europe in that role — Berlin, Hamburg, Vienna, Monaco and many more. I had to start working in French and German, which has been quite a ride. “We (Frisky & Mannish) haven’t performed together in five years, and there are no current plans to do it again right now. But it’s nothing dramatic, we’re still the best of friends.” Taking their stage names nearly 20 years ago from the Complete Works Of Lord Byron that happened to be on a nearby shelf — randomly turning to a page of Byron’s Don Juan that mentioned Lady Fitz-Frisky and Miss Maevia Mannish — Corcoran returns to Fringe World 2026 with her genre-spanning live music solo debut Frisky’s Reshuffle. She says the show lets the audience take the wheel for a great big musical play date, where the crowd challenge Miss Frisky and her four-piece band to play any song in any style. “We’ll try anything you want, in whatever style you like,” Corcoran says. “A thrash metal My Heart Will Go On? Sure. A jazz take on AC/DC? Why not? A Mongolian throat singing version of Edelweiss? Absolutely. The show is made by and with each audience every night. I don’t know what people will ask for, but whatever it is, me and the guys give it a good old-fashioned go. It’s not only totally absurd, but a celebration of trusting yourself, throwing yourself into the unknown, and risking it for a biscuit. “I’d been stewing on the idea for a solo show since around 2013, but I could never quite align everything to make it a reality. Then I turned 40 and had the absolutely classic ‘Oh f…!’ moment, and stopped dithering, nitpicking, and waiting for everything to be perfect, and got on with it.” Frisky’s Reshuffle debuted at Edinburgh Festival Fringe 2025 — where she was also invited to give the opening address — and the warmly received season resulted in an offer to bring the show to Perth. “Reshuffle is the show I had to make at this moment in my life,” she says. “I don’t think I could’ve done it before now. I’ve got thousands of hours of stage time under my belt, in many guises, and I can honestly say I actually know what I am doing enough now to go on stage and do a show like this. “I’m still giving you the big voice, the glam, the style switches, the ridiculousness, but you get to join in and challenge me with exactly what we do. I also absolutely love making an evening into a party and turning a room of strangers into old friends. You’ll see a warmer, looser Frisky, letting her hair down.” Frisky’s Reshuffle is at Lotterywest De Parel Speigeltent, February 4 to 15. Tickets at fringeworld.com.au