Frankie McNair says relax, or 'Relax Your Knees' at least: the title of their latest comedy show.
The up-and-coming comedian has been touring Australia with a unique blend of aggressive optimism and uninhibited joy to great reception. Now, she looks to Sydney and Brisbane to continue sharing tales of her “cooked brain”.
“I overthink a lot of things,” Frankie says, “and then I started thinking about that one day in a meditation class where they said, ‘just make sure the knees are nice and relaxed’ and I just thought ‘at what point are they relaxed? Is it when they’re locked, when they’re bent?’ and I was like, 'I don’t feel relaxed!' And I just overthought it and like, this show is an amalgamation of anxiety as a bit of a through line, it’s just silly.”
Frankie explains that the show is a combination of “tasty plates” for her brain. “I’ve been doing comedy for five years and it’s my favourite bits Frankenstein-ed together. We’ve got stand-up and we’ve got sketch.”
“I feel like it’s a nice introduction into what I have been doing.”
This year has marked the biggest tour Frankie has embarked on in their relatively short career. “I was in a sketch comedy duo called Sweaty Pits, and we did the fringe festival circuit.”
“But I did this show in London which was crazy, and since then it’s been non-stop.”
The kookiness of Frankie’s character has, she says, been relatable thus far on the tour. “I was a bit worried about doing [the show] in London, but it went really well! It’s a pretty daring show, with more traditional stand-up then insane moments, but I’ve been chuffed at how well it’s been received. It’s really nice, it’s very validating.”
From city to city, the show changes ever so slightly depending on how Frankie is feeling and the vibe they pick up from their audience. “From when I started doing 'Relax Your Knees' at Melbourne International Comedy Festival last year, it’s quite different now,” Frankie explains. “I’ve never performed this one show this much so I feel like it’s been evolving a lot, and I’m learning what I enjoy doing more and what works better.”
“It’s been a really cool experience to work on one show for such a long time and kind of give myself the freedom to change it and not be locked in. It’s different, and I’m really learning how to navigate high energy audiences rather than giving the audience the same energy. It’s kind of trial by fire.”
Frankie can’t really say whether she’s confident in the trial by fire approach or whether it’s just a part of who she is, but she can say she can’t really see any other way of doing things. “The only way to do comedy is to kind of fail at it sometimes, but I think that’s just the way you learn.”
Frankie McNair plays Enmore Theatre (Sydney Comedy Festival) 4-7 May and Brisbane Powerhouse (Brisbane Comedy Festival) 18-21 May.
