The School of Night may take their name from an intellectually exclusive Elizabethan collective but what this improvisational group performs is high culture made accessible to the masses. A plethora of literary conceits and philosophical musings are described and demonstrated with glorious ingenuity. They care for their audience’s wider knowledge much the same as an eccentric school master does for his pupils, and like our favourite controversial professor they command our utmost respect.Rather than being completely amorphous and at the audience’s will, The School of Night adds an extra theatrical dimension by adorning each performer with a persona as they adjudicate alternating games.The result is a diverse programme of pieces. Word Serpent is a stickler for wordplay, Ganzfeld Man humorously punishes historical inaccuracy and Troubadour will have nothing but wit. The performance is not immensely funny but this is not the company’s primary concern. The School of Night exhibit an extraordinary restraint in their reluctance to fall back on humour. Not all the cast have a gift for comedy but those who do only use it when absolutely necessary.The emphasis is on the theatre of their creations and amidst a sea of improvisational comedy at the Fringe this counts in their favour. Their emotional connection with the audience is as strong as any improvisational troupe I’ve ever witnessed and you cannot help but stare in awe as they perform feats including a sanguine aria on aubergines.I for one feel enriched by their performance. The show is an education but the kind that you’ll treasure for the rest of your days.
