The Improverts at Bedlam Theatre

(originally published by The Student)

     When it comes to improvised comedy, students are a tough crowd. We've studied transcripts of comedies or the effects of laughter on the brain or the best way to deliver a line, or we've just spent one too many afternoons watching Dave. In the twenty-five years of Bedlam's resident Improverts giving weekly shows to its student population, improvised comedy has grown and exploded, and to a certain extent, we've seen it all before. It's clearly a challenge, then, for the Improverts to put on show every Friday night with a good enough mix of audience participation and performer control, all structured around comedy games which showcase the performers both individually and in groups.

     Clearly, some games work far better than others. Our Honoured Guest involved one performer acting as translator for another, who speaks gibberish on a topic of the audience's choosing. We chose Michael Jackson. In such a game, a lot of pressure is put on the translator to make the insensible noises funny, and this was done seamlessly, effortlessly. There was mistranslation, a dash of sexual innuendo and even a song, followed by a slap on the stage to signal the end of the scene.

     In another, Completely New game, however, things just got confused. A scene was played out backwards, so we saw the end first, then the middle section, then the start, but whatever direction it was running in, it fell flat on its face. It seemed it was the game itself which was the problem- something too complex, which expected the audience to put a lot more cognitive effort into watching it than was likely at eleven o'clock on a Friday night.

     Because, the creatures of habit that we are, we love to see a classic game done well. There's a reason why Bedlam's finest comedians ended their seasonal debut with ten minutes of Freeze. Yes, that same Freeze game you played in drama class when you were thirteen and which you secretly loved. So many quick-fire scenes, lasting about ten seconds each, left us on a high, and this opening-night crowd spilled out of Bedlam's red doors still wanting more. And as our compère rightly told us, if you liked it tonight, you can come back next week for something new, and if you didn't like it, you can come back next week for something new.