Some shows are Fringe standards, you can’t help but think that they’re like the ravens at the Tower of London; that if they weren’t here, everything would come tumbling down. Showstopper! The Improvised Musical is one such constant of this chaotic festival. With 12 years of sell-out runs under their sparkly belts and an impressive résumé of West End successes, you’d imagine that they would rest on their well-deserved laurels. Yet here they are, still performing improvised musicals night after night. Has it gotten old? Have they milked the genre for all it’s worth? Not a chance!
Very likely the funniest improv on the Fringe
The format is simple, co-creator of Showstopper!, Dylan Emery appears on stage as a musical theatre writer taking a call from a West End Producer and he’s got 70 minutes to write a brand new hit. Luckily, he has a spectacularly talented cast of improvisers and a small focus group of 750 audience members to assist. After explaining the concept of improv (for those who’ve missed the last 20+ years of comedy) and taking a selection of audience suggestions, we’re treated to Rap-A-Touille, a musical set in the high energy world of a restaurant kitchen haunted by the ghost of Gordon Ramsey. Adam Meggido performs the powerful opener, Get Out of the Kitchen but is quickly joined by the rest of the cast. I’m suddenly introduced to a concept that I hadn’t anticipated in an improvised musical – improvised choreography! To see the rest of the cast working together to create a dance routine worthy of the West End stage is delightfully silly.
The audience-suggested musical genres for this brand-new hit are an eclectic range that encompasses the tight rap of Hamilton, the lyrical genius of Into the Woods, and avoiding the inherent racism of The Mikado. There’s also an excellent Grease tribute Chip Pan on Fire in honour of Olivia Newton-John who had passed away earlier that day. It’s hard to pick out any highlights in a show that’s close to perfection from start to finish but my particular favourite is Andrew Pugsley’s restaurant critic, Donnie Brasco, who enters the stage to the pompous and brilliant Behold the Food Critic as he hams up a Gilbert & Sullivan caricature that manages to be even more ridiculous than anything served up by a Victorian operetta.
The musical is hilarious, high-energy, even genuinely touching in places, and the cast are clearly having as much fun as the audience. You don’t need to be a musical theatre afficionado to enjoy the gags although knowing your musicals does add to the excitement of hearing an entire genre parodied. I’ve seen a lot of improv in my time but this is the first one I’ve ever seen get a standing ovation from a sell-out crowd. Don’t miss this excellent troupe performing what is very likely the funniest improv on the Fringe.
