list.co.uk/festival Female double acts | FESTIVAL FEATURES
P H O T O :
K A R L A G O W L E T T
Y Being in a comedy duo is a stern test of loyalty and requires a huge level of commitment. After throwing some questions at a bunch of female twosomes, we’re not sure whether the bonds have got stronger or if their partnerships are about to unravel . . .
LAZY SUSAN (Freya Parker and Celeste Dring)
What one thing do you remember most about how you met each other? Freya: It was in a pub in south London and we discussed making a very worthy, serious piece of theatre together. So cute! Celeste: We were introduced by a mutual friend and we all went for drinks together, so it was like going on a weird date. What’s the best thing about working with the other one? Freya: Laughing ourselves into a stupor plus enabling each other’s habit of buying masks off eBay. Celeste: Probably that she is quite different from me, so I really enjoy what she brings and i nd her genuinely surprising. She’s just more of a natural oddball, as you can see from the fact that I’ve written these sincere mini-essays and I’m guessing that’s she’s just put short, daft answers.
What’s the worst thing about working with the other one? Freya: We can get really intense and lose our grip on reality. Celeste: Because we are quite different, it’s sometimes not a straightforward process pulling in the same direction. If your comedy partner hadn’t become part of a double act, what do you think she would have done with her life? Freya: A tap dancing champion or undercover cop or both if the schedule was workable. Celeste: Nothing. She owes me everything.
If your current comedy partner was suddenly unable to work with you ever again, which famed comedian would you headhunt to replace them? Freya: Kermit the Frog: simply a great all- rounder. Celeste: After a long period of mourning I’d probably dip into the pool of our peers and go for David Elms or Jordan Brookes coz I think >>
1–8 Aug 2018 THE LIST FESTIVAL 25