2015 Edinburgh Fringe

Kinsey Sicks answers 10 Edinburgh Fringe Questions

Kinsey Sicks

Benjamin Schatz, Jeffrey Manabat, Spencer Brown and Nathan Marken are otherwise known as Rachel, Trixie, Trampolina and Winnie. Together they are The Kinsey Sicks are they are in Edinburgh to perform America's Next Top Bachelor Housewife Celebrity Hoarder Makeover Star Gone Wild!...

1. Tell us about your career so far. Are you happy with where you're at?

Are we happy with where we're at? Is anyone in comedy EVER happy with where they're at??? Have you ever met a healthy, well-adjusted comedian? Would we be doing this fucking festival if we were happy with where we're at?

But we digress. You asked for the long and sordid history of The Kinsey Sicks, and here is our long and sordid response:

We began in 1993 as a group of friends who went to a concert in San Francisco dressed as the Andrews Sisters. We were approached that night to perform at an upcoming event. Our reply - "we don't sing" - was quickly disproved when we realised that we all had musical backgrounds. We began singing and harmonizing that night and have been performing without pause - and without justification - ever since.

In the subsequent 21 years, we've had a critically-acclaimed Off-Broadway show, an extended run in Vegas, and have offered up our unique if dubious feast of music and comedy in virtually every state in the USA, as well as in Canada, Mexico, Europe and Australia.

Known as "America's Favourite Dragapella Beautyshop Quartet" - a status easy to maintain given the lack of competition - we've recorded eight albums, with our ninth to be released next year. We are also the subjects of two feature films: a concert film, I Wanna Be a Republican and a behind-the-queens documentary, Almost Infamous.

Over the years we've gathered a delightfully diverse fan base of music aficionados, comedy fans, intellectuals, juvenile delinquents (of all ages), a cappella admirers, queers, Jews, lefties, bears, drag devotees, patrons of the arts with a hankering for the unconventional, and other assorted oddballs and outsiders.

2. Describe your show in exactly 23 words.

An overblown musical by Andrew Lloyd Weber. Oh, sorry, that's Cats. We perform Dragapella: glorious a cappella singing, biting satire and outrageous drag.

3. Why are you putting yourself through this famously stressful experience?

Because we know that, painful as this may be for us, it will be even more excruciating for the audience.

4. Any cunning plans to get more punters in?

While we greatly appreciate your somewhat morbid curiosity about our sexual practices, our exact methods of maximizing the number of punters we can accommodate must remain a Kinsey Sicks trade secret.

5. How much money do you think you'll lose/make this year?

We should be okay, unless people read this interview.

6. What are you most looking forward to about your first Edinburgh Festival?

We are greatly looking forward to audience members who are so overwhelmed by our alleged talents (and their own prodigious alcohol consumption) that they sleep with us after the show.

7. What other shows are you hoping to see?

We're very much hoping to see a live sex show involving Nigel Farage and a horde of angry immigrants. Are tickets available?

8. If you took over programming a venue, what would you perfect line-up of comedians be?

Without a doubt, we'd book all the current Republican Presidential candidates in the USA. To a person, these folks are comedy gold! We'd make Donald Trump the headliner, of course, but mostly because we want her hair.

9. Name the one person you'd rather not bump into during the festival.

The Queen Mum. It's always uncomfortable to run into former sexual partners. Especially when they're deceased.

10. Why should audiences pick your show over the 1,700+ other comedy offerings at this year's festival?

It's really not necessary for you to come see our show. All we ask is that you buy tickets.

That being said, if you have low self-esteem - and let's face it, if you've read this far, you really should - nothing will make you feel as good about yourself as an hour with The Kinsey Sicks.

Plus, we can guarantee you that we are the ONLY comedy offering that provides you the chance to hear four demented American drag queens sing in flawless four-part harmony about topics ranging from oral sex to Princess Diana to international arms proliferation. You might not like us, but you won't be able to forget us. No matter how hard you try.

'The Kinsey Sicks: America's Next Top Bachelor Housewife Celebrity Hoarder Makeover Star Gone Wild!' is at 11pm at Gilded Balloon on 5-11, 13-18, 20-25, 27-31 August. Listing

Published: Friday 21st August 2015

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