A to Z Improv Comedy, like most shows of its type, includes many of the classic improv games and therefore runs the risk of being too similar to a host of other shows available. From ‘Foreign Cinema’, in which two players perform a film scene in another language and two of the others translates for them as they go along, to ‘Should have said’, where the audience can join in and interrupt the line of events, all the games are based purely on suggestions from the audience, so the content can vary from obscure things like Tom Cruise’s nose-hair trimmer to the Osmond House on the Isle of White.
Of course, any improvised comedy show is dependent on good suggestions from the audience. However, the quality of any show is also highly dependent on the skills and comic talent of the improvisers performing it; in a good improvised comedy show, even the most boring audience suggestions are made funny and interesting. Sad to say, A to Z improvised comedy didn’t quite make it to comedy heaven on this particular night. Although some of the players showed signs of real comic talent, most of them struggled to make the suggestions funny and on several occasions they just departed from them altogether. Some of the games went on for way too long, mostly because the players either didn’t manage to guess what they were supposed to, or because they simply dragged out a several not-too-funny jokes for too long.
Although bits and pieces of this hour-long improvised comedy show were funny in their own right, the overall impression was far from great. The players struggled to make even the most obscure suggestions entertaining and as a result, the audience was left short on both laughs and enjoyment.
