As Friendliest prepares to land at this year’s Edinburgh Festival Fringe, writer and performer Drew Lausch is bringing a show that fuses stand-up with something more searching. Blending comic book fantasy with deeply personal storytelling, the piece has evolved into a sharply observed exploration of identity, guilt and self-perception, anchored by Lausch’s candid voice.
“I’m originally from Fargo, North Dakota, which we’ll get back to as it deals much with the show,” Drew explains, tracing the path from small-town beginnings to the New York comedy scene. “I got my start performing… singing national anthems at our little league baseball team, and then I caught the bug doing stand-up at the end of my senior year of college.” That shift proved decisive. “I was really interested in writing more and performing more of my own material and the stand-up thing really kind of took off. It just kind of was really right for me.”
Stand-up, for Drew, offered both a creative outlet and a connection point with audiences. “I’ve always been that person at a party who’s got a good story,” they say. “There’s nothing like being on stage and telling a joke or a story that really relates to an audience and brings joy.” Growing up gay in North Dakota also shaped that perspective. “There was so much from my upbringing that was just hilarious, whether that be my religious upbringing or my schooling. It gave me a point of view that audiences weren’t expecting.”
That distinct voice now defines Friendliest, which unfolds through an inventive theatrical device. “The show is set as a pitch meeting for a comic book,” Drew explains. “A queer cartoonist enters to sell the world’s first gay superhero, but as they tell the story, buried memories of first love and growing up in small-town America begin to take over.” What begins as an outrageous comedy concept soon deepens into something far more introspective. “He delves further into his past and why he created this superhero, and why he needs to save himself.”
The comic book framing draws on a lifelong fascination. “I’m a big comic book nerd I’ve always loved superheroes,” Drew says. “Queer individuals have always taken a liking to superheroes because we see ourselves in them. We understand what it’s like to hide a part of our lives.” The show also reclaims a painful personal history. “My high school’s hockey team gave me the nickname Fagman and I always thought, that’s a superhero name. I became obsessed with reclaiming that nickname and making it into something really gay and really super.”
Yet Friendliest resists simple narratives of triumph. “So many autobiographical shows place the creator as the hero,” Drew reflects. “I found it much more interesting to look at the parts where I wasn’t.” That includes confronting past behaviour. “The way I treated someone in that first relationship, it’s not that of a hero. It’s very much that of a villain.” The show ultimately asks broader questions. “Humanity is messier than comic books. We can do horrific things and profoundly good things. Who is beyond redemption, and who gets to decide?”
This tension shaped the creative process as the piece evolved from stand-up into theatre. “Stand-up is about getting a laugh every 15 or 30 seconds,” Drew says. “But with a theatrical piece, I wanted audiences to be hysterically laughing one minute and then be punched in the gut the next.” The result is a more expansive storytelling form. “It challenged me a lot more as a writer… to really tell the full narrative.”
That honesty required confronting uncomfortable truths. “I had to examine a lot of my ugly,” Drew admits. “It’s easy to write your funniest moments, but it’s harder to write about your cruel ones.” The process, however, brought a sense of understanding. “After writing it, I had a lot more empathy for the characters in the show and also myself, which was actually really beautiful.”
Audience reactions have reflected that emotional range. “People came in expecting an hour of stand-up,” Drew says. “They got the laughs, but they weren’t expecting the more vulnerable moments.” That unpredictability is part of the appeal. “I love doing something no one’s expecting, people leave with something to really think about.”
Returning to Edinburgh feels especially significant. “I did the Fringe when I was 18 and deeply closeted,” Drew recalls. “Coming back in my early thirties feels very full circle. So much of the DNA of the show is who that person was.” This time, the focus is on connection and growth. “The dream is that we get a month in a beautiful city and get to perfect a show we really care about… and to meet international audiences.”
Ultimately, Friendliest aims to balance specificity with universality. “If you’ve ever laid awake at night wishing you could revisit a conversation or say something differently, this show is for you,” Drew says. “It explores how people hurt people and how they get hurt themselves told through comic books, bad hookups, a gay superhero and an unforgettable first love, but the feeling underneath is very universal.”
Listings and ticket information can be found here
