Bedfringe 2026 Interview: Musical Chairs

Posted in *Written Interviews, Bedfringe 2026 by

cover

“BedFringe is a lovely boutique festival, with some excellent spaces and a discerning audience.”

WHO: Ashley Frieze

WHAT: “Musical Chairs was set up in 2023 when Friz Frizzle, Edi Johnston and Ashley Frieze were chatting on Facebook about the unwritten rule that musical comedians are never allowed to be on the same bill.

If only that rule could be broken…

A few hours of admin later, their “make a wish” was granted and they’ve been roaming comedy festivals in the UK every since.

It’s simply an hour of wonderful musical stand-up comedy, proving you can have multiple musical comedians on the bill… and nobody gets hurt.

Song ruiner Friz Frizzle is joined by the daft, exuberant Ashley Frieze, and the droll and sharp Edi Johnston.”

WHERE: Quarry Theatre

WHEN: 25 July 2026 @ 16:00 (60mins)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Bedfringe?

This is our first time coming to BedFringe. We’ve expanded our tour to cover the major UK Fringe and Comedy Festivals this year, excepting Edinburgh. We’ve played our solo shows at Fringe festivals before, but this trio show is a lot harder to coordinate, and so we’ve been selective about the places to put it on. BedFringe is a lovely boutique festival, with some excellent spaces and a discerning audience.

What are the big things you’ve learned since 2025 and have you absorbed any of the lessons yet?

Last year I put on a show at the Edinburgh Fringe in which I didn’t appear – Ashley Frieze Is Not Coming. What I learned from that is that there’s a lot of admin and no real pleasure in putting on no show. This year is more admin, but a lot more fun going to the different Fringes and seeing a variety of lovely audiences. We’re lucky to have found people who like what we do.

Tell us about your show.

There’s an unwritten law in stand-up comedy – you should not have more than one musical act on the same bill. We’ve got three… and more than one instrument per person. It’s a chance for us to show that there’s a lot we do differently to each other as musical comics, while also a lot we have in common. We even have a little band for the last song.

What should your audience see at Bedfringe after they’ve seen your show?

Go and see Mitch Benn. Now.

LIKE WHAT YOU JUST READ? FOLLOW US ON TWITTER! OR SIGN UP TO OUR MAILING LIST!

INTERESTED IN BEING INTERVIEWED TOO? CLICK HERE!