Hannah Ramsey leaves feeling imp-ressed after a trip to Bedlam Theatre

The Improverts
Every Friday 10.30pm
Bedlam Theatre

* * * *

With The Improverts filling a regular weekly slot, there really is no excuse to stay in on a Friday evening in Edinburgh.

Oozing enthusiasm all over the Bedlam Theatre stage, it’s no surprise that the improvisational troupe have grown to become both something of an institution on the University of Edinburgh’s student theatre scene, and a stalwart presence at the city’s Fringe Festival.

Their show, in the vein of Whose Line is it Anyway?, is made up of several games with the audience plotting the coordinates.

These include ‘the dinner party’ in which the quirks of the guests have to be guessed, and ‘should’ve said’ where members of the audience, at whim, can order a player to change the last line they just uttered.
Suggestions from the audience can be very random indeed – try being a starfish at a dinner party – and they demand that the players are quick-thinking and witty. Two boxes The Improverts tick with gusto.
A plain backdrop and simple costume allow each player to become a blank canvas upon which the audience’s ideas are splattered.

The actors are supported by an excellent improvising technical team who, equally, are required to adjust to the evening’s twists and turns.

The team secrete energy from every pore and infectiously just seem to be having a really great time. I’ll have whatever they’re having, please.

While inevitably some games and players are funnier than others, the hour produces significantly more hits than misses and the audience lap it up.

The Improverts boast an impressive alumni which includes Miles Jupp and The Penny Dreadfuls, both acts that performed to huge acclaim at this year’s Fringe.

Friday evenings. Bedlam Theatre. 10:30pm. Be there or be square.

During Freshers’ Week at Bedlam Theatre, The Improverts are performing at 10.30pm on Monday 14th, Wednesday 16th and Friday 18th Sept for £2, before reverting back to their Friday evening slot in term time where tickets are £3.50 for students.
Free Improv workshops also run at Bedlam Theatre every Saturday at noon for budding improvisers (or people just wanting to have fun).

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