As the longest running improvised comedy troupe at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, The Improverts are an Edinburgh staple. Performing weekly in Edinburgh University’s student theatre, and their term-time home Bedlam, The Improverts ramp up their performances to delight us every single night of the Fringe. With a selection of five players from a team of twelve, every show offers an entirely different – but always immensely funny – hour of short-form comedy from Edinburgh University’s wittiest.
Packed into one hour is a huge range of improvised comedy sketches, the basis for which are provided by the audience, which require the players to think rapidly on their feet to deliver sharp, fast-paced comedy. Boredom is simply not an option in this show; every few minutes we move to a new game. From an advice panel style in which the players attempt to solve the audience’s problems, to one in which each sentence must start with the next letter in the alphabet. My personal favourite was a scene where one player left the room while the audience thought up a fictional crime they had committed, then returned to act out a scene that would lead them to guessing what said crime was; I don’t know what kind of telepathy goes on between The Improverts, but somehow, without actually giving it away, they were able to lead their fellow player to guessing that he was being charged for wearing socks and sandals, and that fashion designer Gok Wan was the victim. Fictional punishment involved a Fringe flier being forced up somewhere you, well, wouldn’t want a Fringe flier to be.
Audience interaction is key to this show, and the ability of the performers to interact with and play off audience suggestions is what creates the hilarity. When an audience member complained no one was coming to their Fringe show, one of the players amusingly quipped that they couldn’t relate, while another held up the flier and instructed everyone in the audience to go along. The show really feels like a collaboration between the performers and the audience, and this is what makes it so enjoyable.
Improvising alongside The Improverts is the fabulous tech crew who do an impressive job of responding with lightning speed to the cues of the players on stage, using light and sound effects to compliment the scenes and elevate the comedy. They do a brilliant job, and their fast thinking almost makes the wacky and unpredictable scenes feel planned, which somehow makes them funnier.
It’s an hour of crazy, hilarious comedy that will leave you wanting more. And the good news is, there is more. Every show of The Improverts offers a different set of players, different sketches, and different responses from the audience. The Improverts are always different, always funny.
The Improverts is on at 11pm every night between 4-27 August at Bedlam Theatre. Tickets available here: https://tickets.edfringe.com/whats-on/improverts
Image by the reviewer.