Alex Franklin is a stand up comedian, musical comic, and creature from the woods. This year, she is bringing her brand-new show Kiss Me x to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, a production centred on kissing, romance, and more kissing, alongside exploring the fetishisation and objectification of trans bodies.
In addition to her solo hour, she has co-written Mothman: A Romance Musical with Nikola McMurtrie, a production following a woman who falls for the West Virginian mythical creature Mothman.
How did you get into comedy?
As a teenager I went to Christian camp every summer, and on the final day they would do a sort of big sketch show, where every year group was unofficially supposed to come up with something to perform. Out of desperation I rattled something up, and it went rather well, and things just sort of snowballed and here we are.
Tell us about your comedy style.
Someone online said that me doing a comedy is like when a bird gets trapped in an office building and flies around frantically trying to escape. And I think, on some sort of deep, emotional level, I agree.
What’s your show about?
The show is about kissing and how much I love kissing and how good I am at kissing. It’s mostly about romance and dating and also kissing. It’s also sort of about the fetishisation and objectification of trans people, and how we are used as a point of discourse. It’s also mostly about kissing.
Where do you get your inspiration from?
I have a group of magical orphans working for me for VERY low pay. Whenever I need a new idea I yell down the hatch to their lair and say, ‘Another idea for the mistress! Another idea for your ruler!’. They cheer, for they know I will one day lead them to a promised land (Sweden, I’ve promised it to them), and by next dawn they have manufactured me a brand new idea, collated in a shining bright orb.
What do you think makes great comedy?
When they have a person tumbling down the stairs. You GOTTA have someone tumbling down the stairs!
Who are your favourite Funny Women?
The Xenomorph from the film Alien. The Bluey from Bluey. Mother Nature.
Keep up to date with and follow Alex Franklin on Instagram and TikTok
Tickets and more information for Kiss Me x can be found here!
