The riotous drag musical MAN!FEST is back on tour, serving a sharp critique of toxic masculinity as its all-female boyband battles the crushing pressures of pop stardom. We sat down with the cast to discuss how this satirical sensation unpacks the intense relationship between idol fame and female empowerment.
Would you mind giving us an insight into what your show/event/performance is?
It’s every awkward teenage girl’s dream to have a boyband member as her boyfriend. We just took it to the next extreme; why date them when you can be them?! MAN!FEST is the hottest boyband in the world (obviously!), and they’re about to embark on their 2nd world tour…But caught between manipulative management, impossible public expectations and their own fragile identities, the group battles to survive the pressures of fame while maintaining the fantasy demanded by their screaming fans. Blending high-energy pop bangers, biting satire, and your new favourite boyband, you’ll leave MAN!FEST: The Drag Boyband Musical humming, dancing, and singing (and then feeling guilty for doing so!)
The show is an exploration of toxic masculinity and its effects on young boys and its relayed effect on girls, but is done through the lens of the biggest boyband in the world, their corrupt and demanding management, and the young fangirls who just want to be loved. All your classic boyband fun!
Tell us about the creative team and the process involved?
When we don’t look like boys, we’re OnTheNose Productions; a feminist theatre company that creates original comedy musicals that gut punch you when you’re not expecting it! It’s been ridiculously fun creating the show – I mean, who doesn’t want to be in a boyband?! From the initial stages of finding our individual characters (the bad boy, the sporty boy, the romantic boy, the…other boy), to developing the script, writing the show’s pop bangers, and learning the swoon-worthy choreography, each step has been a playfully creative feast! We’ve never done drag collectively before, and finding and creating these loud, colourful and ever so slightly stereotypical boyband members has allowed us to explore and share our experiences of being a young awkward teenage girl through heightened boyband hysteria! The show is – on the surface – a comedy musical that pokes fun at boyband culture, but is also layered with reflections on toxic masculinity, criticisms of fangirl ‘hysteria’, celebrity culture, and more. (A Trojan Horse of a show, if you will.)
We created the show through Chichester Festival Theatre’s Future Theatre Makers’ Program and have since partnered with them and The Pleasance as part of the Edinburgh National Partnership. We’re incredibly excited to be a part of it!
How does it feel coming to (back to) the Fringe?
The Fringe is such an animated, lively, (and quite frankly mad) experience (just like our show!). The atmosphere at Fringe is unlike any other – a whacky mix of unmatched passion, nervousness, and the collective hope of simply having your show be seen! It’s an absolute whirlwind of emotions, but we can’t wait to take our energetic and charming boyband to Edinburgh! The last time we were here with another show, we had 6 performances, so to be doing MAN!FEST throughout the entirety of August is thrilling!
With shows from all over the world at the Fringe, what sets yours apart?
With original songs, choreography and characters all explored through your new favourite boyband, MAN!FEST is a highly energetic, nostalgia-fuelled love letter to fangirls and boybands of all generations. You’ll swoon, you’ll scream, you’ll suddenly have the urge to take off your bra and throw it at us (yes if even if you don’t own a bra), and you’ll leave feeling satiated.
On that, is there anything in the production or production team’s backgrounds which influences the way the show is performed or told?
As an all female company we draw from our own lived experiences as well as those around us. This fuels our initial creative stages for a show and develops into something that wider audiences can enjoy. At our core we’re four women being funny on stage whilst telling darker stories in an ironic and upbeat manner.
Is there anything specific you’re hoping the audience will take away?
Of course we love it when audiences leave singing our songs (this is a common occurrence – they are ear worms!) We also love when people connect with the characters in the show (whether it’s with the boyband, the fangirls, or both!). We always aim to have our audiences leaving feeling emotionally whiplashed by the darker relevant themes portrayed throughout that are interspersed as a subtle undercurrent beneath the bubblegum pop numbers!
Your Ideal audience is in attendance, who’s watching? Or more importantly – who isn’t…?
Music and boyband lovers, music and boyband haters, young women (particularly those who had/have an obsession with a boyband/Justin Bieber, he counts too!), young men (yes, this show is for you as well!), mothers with a penchant for Take That…For those we don’t want attending – Simon Cowell, we appreciate your work with One Direction but please refrain from stopping by.
It’s an intense month, so where you’re able, how do you plan to relax, and are there any other shows you intend to see or want to recommend?
We will be casually reading Sylvia Plath’s ‘The Bell Jar’ (you might of heard of it?), chilled glass of Ribena in hand (not sponsored), and a couple of our members are insane – so their idea of relaxing is to go for a run at least twice a week! There are too many shows that we’re excited to see this Fringe, however, we can’t wait to see the other Edinburgh National Partnership shows at the Pleasance!
MAN!FEST: The Drag Boyband Musical will run at Venue 33, The Green at Pleasance Courtyard
Runs: August 5th – August 30th at 16.00pm
Interested in being featured on our Have a Gander page? With many previews and Q&As lined up, we’re always happy to chat about including your show in future articles. Please do get in touch through the contact page to feature in an upcoming ‘Have A Gander’