She’s one of the biggest voices in the international cabaret scene and Miss Frisky is heading to our shores for the second year in a row at the Auckland Live International Cabaret Season.
Based in the UK but touring with her eclectic karaoke show, Laura Corcoran, a.k.a Miss Frisky, spills the beans on why she loves her art form, her must-visit haunts in Auckland, and how she looks so fresh.
What can we expect to see at the world premiere of Miss Frisky’s Karaoke Experience?
“This is your chance to treat me like a jukebox and hear whatever songs you want a cabaret diva to belt at you. But more than that, it’s a really fun night raking through the catalogues of karaoke classics.
“It’s a big party that we’re all at together, and by the end we’ll all be ‘BFFs’ round the microphone and dancing around each other’s’ handbags, I have no doubt!”
You were a part of Auckland Live’s International Cabaret Season last year too, what keeps you coming back?
“I adore Auckland, and the cabaret season is a perfect boutique selection of the best in the world – I feel extremely privileged to be invited back again! As awareness of cabaret and variety grows in the city, the team behind the season do a great job of handpicking top artists, all of whom represent very different sides of our diverse genre.
“Auckland could not be getting a better introduction to cabaret, and I know that since the seasons started the scene in the city itself is growing and becoming something really exciting. It’s such a treat to be a part of all that!”
How do you and the show’s director Miss Behave plan to spend any downtime you get in the city?
“Sadly, Miss Behave won’t be with me this time, as she’s storming the Las Vegas strip with her Gameshow (she’s next door to Britney Spears, no big deal…), but I have my trusty technician Barry, who will accompany me on endless trips to the Federal Deli for poutine and cocktails, and come and retrieve me from K-Road when I get carried away in the vintage shops.
“I’m also looking forward to having excellent coffee again. I mean, seriously, you guys have ruined me for every other city in the world. The coffee is never good enough now…”
Your stage persona is very confident, what are your tips for letting your best self shine?
“Feel the fear and do it anyway. That extra adrenaline gives you superpowers, so don’t be afraid of it!
“It feels like it will overwhelm you, but once you mount the beast (definitely a euphemism), you discover what you are truly capable of. And even if it doesn’t go how you want it to, probably no one died, and you can only be embarrassed if you can’t laugh at yourself. So, laugh it off, learn from it, try again or do something else!
“Life goes on. Unless it doesn’t, and then it doesn’t matter anyway, so why the hell not?!”
Do you have any make-up tips from years of putting on stage make-up?
“I think everyone who wears make-up regularly has their own system, and usually falls back on the same colours, shapes and looks. To keep things fresh, and to evolve, I would say you have to make sure you try something new at least once out of five times of putting your make up on.
“Just make sure you have loads of time for it, so you don’t feel pressured or panicked. Panic-application of eyeliner is never a good thing, and often leads to said eyeliner being cried off… Also, clean your brushes.”
We love your colourful outfits, what is your fashion philosophy?
“More is more! I have no sense of restraint. I rely on people around me, especially my beloved stylist and wig-maker Yaya, to stop me before it starts looking like a 1980s Vegas show threw up on me.”
What do you love most about cabaret?
“I love the complicated relationship it has to reality. Even if we’re pretending to be someone we’re not, or somewhere we’re not, we always have a very real relationship with the people in the room.
“We don’t pretend you’re not there – we chat, we vibe off each other, we make a moment that is completely unique, even if we’re performing material we’ve done a hundred times. Through all the sequins and songs, there’s a very real expression of something, and a call to others to be a part of it.”
Are there any other shows at the International Cabaret Season you are hoping to see?
“I can’t wait to catch up with my friends in Velvet – I saw that show a couple of years ago in Edinburgh, and it is so much fun! Also, Michael Griffiths never fails to produce perfection, so I’m very much looking forward to seeing Cole.
“I wasn’t able to see Starman when we were last at a festival together, so I am dying to see Sven Raztke’s show – everyone whose opinion I trust raved about it to me. And finally, That Bloody Woman sounds right up my street – I love some politics, some fury and some kick ass tunes, so I look forward to discovering that one!”
Miss Frisky performs in Miss Frisky’s Karaoke Experience plays from 15 – 16 September at Basement Theatre as part of the Auckland Live International Cabaret Season, which runs from 14 September – 1 October.
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