Femme Natale’s Edinburgh show covers the things about parenting you may be afraid to ask. I spoke to the group and discovered that you don’t need to be a parent to enjoy their mix of very original songs and sketches.
The best contraceptive in town
Before we go any further, please could you summarise this show in a single sentence.
It’s an unapologetically comic peek into the world of parenting: before during and after.
So it's probably an obvious question, but one should never assume…where did the idea for the show originate?
The four of us love our little darlings. Fingal (the show’s director) had been floating the idea of a sketch comedy show about parenting with UK producer Rachel Millar. It was all very serendipitous and the ideas for sketches seemed endless.
So should we expect lots of dirty nappies and baby’s rude first words?
Our sketches cover topics that aren’t often talked about.
Give us an example or two…
We have men giving birth. There's a slobbering baby coming for swollen breasts like it’s Jaws attacking. And vulvae reminiscing about the time before they had a bulldozer through the playground.
Is the show squarely aimed at those who have experienced parenthood?
Not at all. In the first season we told men without kids not to come. A few came anyway because they are friends. They loved it.
So we stopped only telling people we thought it would suit and just promoted broadly. Through word-of-mouth people come from such a broad audience demographic range.
Who would you say your audience has become?
Men in their 40s who don’t even have children, LGBTQI audiences, octogenarians, girls-nights-out, mums. It varies wildly. We’ve been continuously surprised.
Do you find different parts of the show get different reactions from different audiences?
Chuckles come at us for all sorts of reasons for different parts of the sketches that resonate for people for different reasons.
In exactly 50 words, tell our readers why they should book to see Femme Natale when you play Just the Tonic/Cask Room in Edinburgh from 15th – 27th August.
The theme is parenthood: a rollercoaster ride with some wheels falling off. It’s rude, no-holds-barred, in-your-face, and hilariously honest with all the raging hormones, shock, and stitches that nobody warns you about when you’re contemplating that beautiful institution of parenthood.
We describe our show as the best contraceptive in town.
