Please could you introduce yourselves and tell us a bit about the show
As the show goes on, we find that people get warmed up and are less nervous about shouting out things.
Hi! We're Qumarth and Georgina and we're the directors of The Shambles, a short form improvised comedy troupe based in York. Our show consists of fast paced, short form improv, with a variety of songs, scenes and games improvised entirely on audience suggestions.
What's your favourite thing about performing short form improv?
G: I love how it is very rapid and you have to adapt effectively. Also if a scene is not going well, you know it will be over soon.
Q: The variety of scenes is what I’ve grown to love; it’s sensational and refreshing to finish a scene and then start a new one which is completely different.
Do you find audiences like to suggest more outlandish or mundane scenarios for you to perform around?
G: As the show goes on, we find that people get warmed up and are less nervous about shouting out things. This therefore leads to more outlandish suggestions, which we love.
Q: I’ve found that in our York shows, the audience likes to give more outlandish and wacky suggestions. Probably because they've seen our show multiple times and have a better idea of what to expect. At our Edinburgh Fringe shows [The Shambles will be performing at theSpace @ Surgeon's Hall this August], it tends to be the opposite as audience members are newer to improv shows.
What's your favourite suggestion you've heard in a show?
G: It was ‘Paleontologist’ because it was out of the mouth of a small child and also, who doesn’t love dinosaurs!
Q: Once, one of the Shambles had to mime a swan. To make it trickier, they had to mime that the swan’s spelt with a silent K. The ‘spelt with a silent K’ suggestion was genius, and watching my fellow performer try and mime it was hilarious.
The Great Yorkshire Fringe is in its fourth year now- what's your best joke to make a four year old laugh?
Ah the old classic. What’s brown and sticky? A stick.
Yorkie Wrap- innovation or abomination?
G: Anything that makes my eating as messy as possible is an innovation in my book.
Q: The bigger the pudding, the better. If it was an abomination, people wouldn’t be queueing out the door to buy it.
Who's better: the Shambles improv troupe, or York's historic street the Shambles?
G: Well, the street has some years on us and is more visually appealing but it won’t make you chuckle like we can.
Q: Number of Harry Potter shops on the street: 3 (I think). Number of Harry Potter Shops in an improv show: as many as you want (as long as you keep suggesting it!) so obviously the troupe.
Where and when are you performing at GYF?
We are performing at The Teapot on the 23rd July at 5:00 p.m. and the 24th July at 3:30 p.m. Come on down and see us!
