Edinburgh Fringe 2010
The Improverts
The Improverts
Genre: Improvised Theatre
Venue: Bedlam Theatre
Festival: Edinburgh Fringe
Low Down
It’s impossible not to get swept away in the atmosphere of the Bedlam theatre as the late night show begins, audiences whooping, cheering, going crazy with excitement. There are performers who would kill for that kind of welcome. And then they’re on stage, confident, passionate, and with the absolute conviction that they can do no wrong.
Review
It’s a great show. The pace is high, the gags are brilliant, and the energy never sags. A little secret: It’s the smaller, seemingly most simple improv games that are the real signifier between the average groups, and the really good ones. It’s the same here: playing ‘Alphabet’ – a game that, as you might have guessed, has two actors speaking to each other with each sentence beginning with the next consecutive letter of the alphabet – can all too often be a deathly, tedious torture for the audience – particularly as it’s the one game where everyone knows exactly how long they’ve got left to endure. Not so here, however, where the game is deceptively played quickly and easily, as simple as – well, as your ABC’s.
And yet. Third decade? It might be time to see something new. With the loud music and funky lights, it’s clear that this group see themselves as the improv rock kids of Edinburgh. And that may well be the case. But we want to see the Improverts get extrovert, outside their comfort zone. They are genuinely excellent at short form improv games. Now we want to see what else they’ve got.
