list.co.uk/festival Anna and Helen | F E S T I VA L C O M E DY

R AT TA L E S

After working with some top names in British TV’s higher echelons, Anna O’Grady and Helen Cripps are back at the Fringe playing

extended versions of themselves. The pair assure Claire Sawers that their brand of silly slapstick is a world away from The Chuckle Brothers

‘I usually forget to eat,’ shrugs Helen Cripps, much to the horror of her co- star, Anna O’Grady. ‘It terrifies me so much, her appetite is so small! She doesn’t even eat breakfast!’ confirms

the other half of this London comedy duo.

Luckily, O’Grady has put herself in charge of snacks and cooking for their upcoming Fringe run, performing their show Stuck in a Rat in the Pleasance Attic. ‘I like to graze consistently, on top of four small meals,’ she explains, sounding suddenly slightly swotty. ‘Lots of healthy fruit and veg and perhaps a blueberry muffin or an interesting tart when we need a sugar boost.’

It’s the first time in years that either has performed at the Fringe and their excitement, much like O’Grady’s disapproval of skipping the most important meal of the day, is palpable. O’Grady was last onstage in Edinburgh as a student in 2006, and for Cripps, it was 2009 when she performed in bone-dry double- act show, Alex and Helen’s Radio Nowhere. They’ve hardly been idle though; both starred in double Bafta-nominated dark comedy film Black Pond alongside Simon Amstell, and have racked up an impressive list of stage and TV credits, including Netflix series Flowers with Julian Barratt and Olivia Colman, where they acted together again. ‘We’ve been very lucky to work with high- profile people and it was a delightful shock when Black Pond was nominated for awards,’ says Cripps. ‘Everyone’s been very nice unfortunately, so we have no showbiz horror stories to tell.’

‘I guess we’ve both just really missed the immediacy of live shows,’ says O’Grady. ‘That adrenaline and energy you get from a live crowd.’ Both enjoyed writing scripts for TV but are looking forward to the autonomy of their own Fringe show. ‘With TV there are often lots of different voices in the room, lots of waiting around to hear back,’ continues O’Grady. ‘With a Fringe show, it’s totally different. Your deadline is basically the moment you drop the line in front of the crowd.’

What they’re dropping is an hour-long, musical self-help seminar for people whose lives have become stagnant. It’s full of handy hints on ‘how to change your approach to money, live an active life, travel, animal companionship, psychology and even falling in love.’ Anna and Helen play ‘extended versions’ of themselves, blundering incredibly good through with

intentions but maybe not the best attention to detail. ‘They’re well-meaning idiots, basically,’ says Cripps. ‘They think they are very slick and have been on a fantastic journey, so are very excited to share their wisdom. But they’re actually making tons of mistakes. This tension grows and grows, and Anna is soon driving me up the wall.’

The title comes from a (fictional) typo on a blurb about their show, sent in for the Fringe programme. Determined to look professional, they’re just going to style it out, with Stuck in a Rat plastered over tour merch and posters. ‘When I say we’ve based the characters on exaggerated versions of ourselves . . . let’s just say we’ve drawn on some very real reserves,’ Cripps says with a snorted laugh, confessing she tried to tweet back in February to promote a ‘work-in-progress’ version of this show, but accidentally just tweeted only to O’Grady, the one person guaranteed to be going anyway.

‘I also used to write scripts using lots of different colours and fonts,’ offers O’Grady. ‘Helen found them . . . “unpalatable”. She is now the trusted scribe.’ They had Dear Joan and Jericha, the darkly hilarious podcast from Julia Davis and Vicki Pepperdine, in mind when writing Stuck in A Rat, as well as Amy Poehler, a comedy hero of them both. ‘Our show is silly and surreal, but not full-on slapstick like The Chuckle Brothers or anything,’ says Cripps. ‘It’s not as graphic as the content of Dear Joan and Jericha, but the earnestness is there. We love Parks and Recreation; it’s obviously total nonsense but there’s so much heart in it too. All the characters are so well rounded, you really buy into it.’

They feel they’ve maybe done things ‘the wrong way around’ by having big-screen success then returning to the Fringe, but are pleased to be fine-tuning their double act. ‘It’s taken years but we’ve kind of honed the writing down so it’s just us,’ notes O’Grady. ‘The dream would be for people to like the show and give us a chance to keep doing stuff together,’ adds Cripps. ‘We have folders on our laptops with years of material, a huge catalogue of scripts. We’re just not very hot at the old promotion and admin side of things . . .

Anna and Helen: Stuck in a Rat, Pleasance Courtyard, 3–26 Aug (not 13), 5.45pm, £9–£11 (£8–£10). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £6.

TWIN PEAKS Here’s a selection of other twosomes acting up

GIANTS ARE FJORD Just in case it slipped your mind, Fjörd lifted Norway to Eurovision glory in 2015 but sadly such triumphs were not to last. Enduring a brutally painful separation, Lars and Ulrich are now back and ready to record a brand new live album. Brace yourselves. Pleasance Courtyard, 3–26 Aug (not 13), 5.45pm, £9.50–£11.50 (£8.50–£10.50). Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £7.

THE DELIGHTFUL SAUSAGE After last year’s affair which we dubbed as ‘trippy madness that beguiles and baffles’, The Delightful pair of Amy and Christopher-Louise do a split stand-up set of gritty political comedy . . . of course they don’t: expect more daft lunacy in the latest slice of their ‘chipolata trilogy’. Monkey Barrel, 4–25 Aug (not 13), noon, £5–£7 in advance or donations at the venue. Previews 2 & 3 Aug, £6.

MARK AND HAYDN What do you get when you have a double act who can’t stand each other? You have Mark and Haydn and their show Llaugh, where different styles of comedy go head to head. Just the Tonic at The Caves, 1–25 Aug (not 12), 5.30pm, £6.50 (£5).

HUNT & MURPHY The snarling co-hosts of America’s number one feminist shopping channel are here to Beg, Borrow and Bitch, with Abbie Murphy and Ricky Hunt taking on the roles of Cindy and Cassandra. They’ve been removed from the air before but can they get through this hour without impaling each other on their claws? Gilded Balloon at Old Tolbooth Market, 3–25 Aug (not 13), 10.30pm, £6 in advance or donations at the venue. Previews 31 Jul–2 Aug, £4.

MANHUNT 2 Footlights duo and good pals Leo and Emm return with more sketch-based Gen-Z existential angst as they go on the prowl for men and a sense of who they are. Bedlam Theatre, 2–25 Aug (not 15), 8pm, £10 (£8). Previews 31 Jul & 1 Aug, £8 (£6).

31 Jul–7 Aug 2019 THE LIST FESTIVAL 55