Viva Brighton Issue #69 November 2018

COMEDY
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Richard Carpenter
...is Close To You
Photo by Mark Dawson
When Matthew Floyd Jones struck on the idea of
writing a show about Richard Carpenter, he didn’t
have to look far for inspiration. The pianist had
spent nine years performing with vocalist Laura
Corcoran in cabaret double act Frisky & Mannish
and knew just how it felt to play second fiddle to a
charismatic frontwoman. “I thought that if Laura
and I were The Carpenters of cabaret, then I was
definitely Richard,” he says. “Karen Carpenter
was the one people really responded to; she was
the one with the iconic voice, that face, whereas
Richard is a bit awkward, a bit more controlling
and cerebral.”
The more he learned about the sibling stars, the
more parallels he saw in his relationship with
Corcoran: “I remember doing a TV interview
with Laura and I barely said one word because the
interviewer was only interested in Laura. When
you’re sitting side by side like that, you can’t help
but feel overlooked and that’s when paranoia and
jealousy settle in.” It is this tension – the desperate
desire to step out of someone else’s shadow and
be seen as a talent in one’s own right – that drives
the black comedy of Close To You. It imagines
Richard, the man who was once ‘on the top of the
world, to the left of (and slightly behind) Karen’,
finally telling his story.
“I didn’t want it to be a biography or a tribute
because I wanted to tell some of my story, based
on my experiences in Frisky & Mannish. But also,
there are legal difficulties in doing a show about
a real, living person. I was advised to make it very
clear this is a parody.” Jones doesn’t use actual
Carpenters’ songs in the show for similar reasons.
But his thinly disguised versions of classic tracks -
‘How come fish jump out of the sea, when you’re
walking on a beach next to me?’ – only underline
Richard’s attempt to take back control. “This is
a show that’s all about Richard and as he tries –
and fails – to show he can do it alone, it just adds
another layer of poignancy.”
It seems something of a departure from the camp,
high-energy pop fun of Frisky & Mannish but
Jones insists his sensibilities have always leaned
towards the darker side. “What Laura and I did
was pure entertainment. But the comedy I love
is darker stuff, stuff with heart. I like subverting
people’s expectations.”
In real life, he is on good terms with Corcoran
– in fact they are planning a tenth anniversary
Frisky & Mannish show next year – but he says
it has taken time for him to make peace with his
role in their partnership. “I used to be desperate
to control how people saw me, as Richard is in
the show, but now I’m through the other side of
that and feel much more relaxed in my own skin. I
guess that’s really what the show’s about – how to
stop worrying about what other people think and
accept yourself.” Nione Meakin
Komedia, 29th Nov, 8pm
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