Improvisational comedy shows are always a tricky thing to review. On the one hand you get a sense of the company and how they work together. And on the other your enjoyment is entirely dependent on how good their response to the audience is. In both cases, The Improverts were lacking. The chemistry between the guys on stage seemed forced, as if they werent really enjoying themselves. And, although the audience werent coming up with gold, the players struggled with relatively simple ideas for scenes and, occasionally, the rules of the games they were playing. The other major problem is that, if brevity is the soul of wit, these guys are War and Peace. Games which long overstayed their welcome (a dreadful game called Slideshow ran for nearly ten minutes) made the late night audience restless whilst games with potential were over before theyd had a chance to shine. And its problematic when the audience members invited to come up and play the games upstage the performers.The highlight of the show is unquestionably the technical team. The speed at which they come up with audio jokes is staggering (including finding a song with the word staple in its chorus). When the cast say theyre nothing without their techies, you know its true. With all the improvisational comedy shows out there this year, I cant recommend this is one that you rush to. Whilst I acknowledge that my experience is only of the one night, and it may have been a bad night, I dont believe that better audience suggestions would help lift this show. The Improverts need to return to basics if they intend to challenge student improv shows as well received as Otherworld.
