The great thing about improv comedy is that you never know what to expect. This show has taken that to a whole other level, with each performance having a completely different immersive theme. I just so happened to attend on an evening where the audience were transported back to a medieval royal court, complete with paper crowns for all.
As advertised, this show really is a theatrical version of Whose Line It Anyway?, complete with all the comedic spontaneity. By having a running theme each evening, the performance avoids being a completely chaotic whirlpool of comedy, and is instead cohesive and immersive.
As can be expected with improv comedy, some jokes land better than others. On the whole, this show did well in keeping the comedy moving, making sure that they never got stuck in a rut. While most of the show drew at least some hearty chuckles from the crowd, there was certainly a generous amount of side-splitting moments.
The show runs through a series of comedic games determined by a spinning wheel, often incorporating the audience in some dimension. Whether that is through providing the setting, or making sound effects for the performers movements, this involvement worked hilariously, and the performers always managed to transform the audience’s response into something comedic.
However, the concept of the spinning wheel to determine which game would be played next would have been great if the wheel actually spun. Instead it became more of a list. Considering that the show has “wheel” in the title, it would’ve been great to see it actually spinning, however this did not vastly detract from the hilarity of the games played, and became something of a comedic moment in itself.
The final comedic montage which brought together jokes from throughout the whole show was a brilliant concept. It began to feel like one big inside joke, as characters and moments from earlier in the show were brought together in one final comedic medley.
Bar the non-spinning spinning wheel, this show ran smoothly, and drew many laughs from the audience. The spontaneity and unpredictability of the performance kept the audience truly enrapt, and all-in-all it was a highly entertaining and comedic show.
Out of My Wheelhouse is running until 16 August at Theatre 1 at theSpace at Surgeons’ Hall.
Buy tickets here.
Image courtesy of Hoi Yan Tang, provided to The Student as press material