Country Mile Productions in association with United Agentsare excited to announce that award-winning duo and Edinburgh favourites Britney are returning to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022 for the first time in five years with their brand-new hour Friends And Nothing More. The showwill open at the Pleasance Courtyard, Below this August from Wednesday 3rd until Monday 28th.
Fresh from their universally adored BBC Three pilot, BRITNEY, which was a huge success when it debuted at the Fringe festival in 2016, Charly Clive and Ellen Robertson are getting ready to make their long-awaited return to the Fringe this year with a sketch show about love. But which of these two girls will you fancy more?
At the heart of Friends And Nothing More is Ellen and Charly’s 15 year friendship, their disastrous Year 11 Christmas talent show and their desire for attention and love – disclaimer, both are currently single! Will they find love at one of their shows? (Why else would they be performing sketch comedy?) Will Ellen and Charly fall in love with each other – crazier things have happened, right? Or, will they remain – like the song Charly genuinely wrote when Ellen came out to her – “Friends and Nothing More”?
Expect sketches on dating apps and social media, Disney’s 1991 classic Beauty and the Beast, gender reveal parties, and how they both froze on stage at their Year 11 Christmas Talent Show. There will be songs. There will be ‘satire’. There might well be Adult Heelies. This is a show you do not want to miss!
Charly and Ellen’s chemistry is irrefutable; they perform with the warmness and quick wit of two people who have been finishing each other’s sentences for 15 years – likely because they have after meeting at the tender age of 14. Both are exceptional actresses and comedians in their own right, with incredible and natural comedy timing – their personality oozes on stage, making their sketches rich and believable and their audiences entertained throughout.
BRITNEY, brought their first show, Britney, to the 2016 Edinburgh Fringe and 2017 VAULT Festival, where it was recommended by The Guardian, London Evening Standard and Time Out. Britney then went to the Battersea Arts Centre for two sell-out runs, and in April 2019 they sold out at London’s Soho Theatre. Their sophomore hour, John, was about an attempt to make a documentary while they Greyhound-Bussed around America as naive teens.
Lifelong friends, BRITNEY have been writing together since they were approximately 14 years old – watch as they prepare to take the Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2022 by storm – you know you want to.
Ellen and Charly, how does it feel to be returning to the fringe 5 years later?
It feels sooo gooood baaabbbyyyy. We cannot wait for a month of eating Greggs in the rain and drinking pints in the rain and laughing with friends in the rain and seeing lots of brilliant shows in the goddamn beautiful rain!!!!!
What can people expect from Friends And Nothing More?
They should expect to fall in love (with us) please.
After meeting at the age of 14, how have you kept the friendship and work relationship strong after all these years?
We simply have too much dirt on each other at this point. We keep the relationship strong because the potential for blackmail is too big of a risk.
How do you both achieve such chemistry on stage?
It’s probably just the huge amount of love and history we have for/with eachother. We always say ‘I love you, I’m sorry for anything that goes wrong and I forgive you’ before every show in a semi-mocking dramatic way. We just really bloody love each other man, it’s as simple as that. And we always have a pint before we perform, that helps. We once went onstage sober and our producer, Al, afterwards came backstage looking sombre and said ‘what happened?’
Can you tell us about Ellen coming out and Charly’s reaction?
Throughout highschool (even before Gabriella transferred) Ellen was always into musical theatre and would wear a different sassy hat (usually a trilby or flat cap) everyday and even though she was in the shadow of her more theatrical sister we knew that it was Ellen who was the talent. This was later proved at the country club talent show and then in the third film… oh wait no sorry that’s the plot line for the character Ryan in Highschool Musical.
Not only comedians, but actresses as well: what can we expect from you in the future?
We both have some pretty exciting things coming up this year. We’re writing a couple of exciting projects together and we will also be filming later this year separately so it’s a nice mix of working together and apart. Also we will be doing a run of Friends And Nothing More at The Soho Theatre at the end of this year.
Finally, can you tell us something surprising about each other?
People are often surprised when Ellen tells them she’s a vegetarian and this is on account of how much chicken she eats.
A surprising fact about Charly is that she’s perfect! (Charly wrote this answer).
YASS Magazine 