Shay Mace
After debuting at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe last year with Honey Honey Moon Moon, performed on their literal honeymoon, married musical comedy duo Couplet return across the Atlantic this year with their all-new interactive comedy show Folk Marry Kill. The piece sees Marnina and Micah tell so-weird-they-must-be-true stories from a decade of being monogamous… a British sleep hypnotist, a therapy workbook that doesn’t hold back and an Uber driver who loves his zip ties. We caught up with the pair for a pixelated pint to find out more about what audiences can expect.
You can catch Couplet: Folk Marry Kill at Assembly George Square (Studio Five) from 16:35 (60mins) on August 6–16, 18–25. Tickets are Available Through the Assembly Festival Box Office.
Shay: Hi Micah / Marnina, tell us about Folk Marry Kill and why you have decided to bring this to the stage now?
Marnina: Folk Marry Kill spotlights a newly married couple (us), where one person is full of death anxiety and the other thinks they might live forever. It kicks off with the words I said to Micah literally while consummating our marriage, which were: “You’re not allowed to die.”
Micah: And at the same time, it’s an interactive comedy show featuring our funniest new songs. A lot of people are dealing with existential dread and need to be gently lifted out of it, even if for an hour.
Shay: Tell us about your process for putting together this hour – what do you do to get yourself motivated and what challenges have you found with this material?
Micah: The first motivation for us was a deadline! We booked the show at Edinburgh before we had it all written. Last year, our show talked about the LA wildfires which was this external dramatic obstacle, and this year the challenge was to find something internal. Basically, last year, the fires happened to us, and this year, we happened to us.
Shay: Tell us about your comedy icons – who are they, and how have they influenced your work?
Marnina: Flight of the Conchords are an obvious influence on us as a folky comedy band. Their lyrics can be so clever and tightly rhymed, but they also follow the funny and make fools of themselves, and their songs are always straight-up good music. We got to see them on tour this year, for the first time since I caught their tour in high school, and I had NO chill about it.
Micah: Maria Bamford is a hyper-local example of a comedy icon— we’ve been lucky enough to see her work out new material in East Los Angeles, and the way that Maria talks so openly about “taboo” topics of mental health, therapy, and suicide is incredibly inspiring.
Marnina: And one more big one is Mike Birbiglia, for the way he takes his audience on a narrative journey and breaks your heart a little in the best way.
Shay: Do you have any pre-show rituals?
Micah: This is a little embarrassing as Americans who are visiting the UK, but we loved the TV show “Ted Lasso” and at some point in the pandemic started doing this little dance where we rub our butts together and chant his name. Now we do it before every show, and I think it helps me get out of my head into a more silly place.
Shay: Has/will the show be performed anywhere ahead of EdFringe?
Marnina: We debuted it at Hollywood Fringe in June (and got nominated for three awards, including the Fringe Award for Comedy & Variety Acts!) and we’re excited to try it out on a London audience at the Museum of Comedy (12 July, 7pm) and in Liverpool at the Kabin @ Kazimier Garden (26 July, 8pm).
Shay: With EdFringe now just around the corner, what are you most excited for?
Micah: This is our second year, and it feels like we get to see our camp friends again.
Marnina: And this year, I’m also gonna be moonlighting in Heated Rivalry: The Musical Parody (Other Yin, Gilded Balloon Patterhouse, 7:45pm), which we wrote a couple songs for with our LA musical comedy troupe. I play the absolutely ridiculous role of the Intimacy Coordinator, who I modeled after both Liza Minelli and Jane Lynch. It’ll be so fun to hop into that big, goofy musical most nights and to share the Fringe experience we love with our LA friends and collaborators.
Shay: Given the themes of Binge Fringe, if your show was a beverage of any kind (alcoholic, non-alcoholic – be as creative as you like!), what would it be and why?
Marnina: Hemingway invented a cocktail called Death in the Afternoon. It’s champagne and absinthe: a bit dark but you’ll have a GREAT time. And our show is in the afternoon – 4:35pm!
A reminder, you can catch Couplet: Folk Marry Kill at Assembly George Square (Studio Five) from 16:35 (60mins) on August 6–16, 18–25. Tickets are Available Through the Assembly Festival Box Office.
Image Credit: Jack Morris
Fringe Classics
Ariel Slack
