MTW’s improvisation on the fringe of success
After their sell out show in January, and a trip to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival imminent, Music Theatre Warwick’s The Improv Musical returned to Warwick Arts Centre Studio on Thursday night to a packed audience. The group, formed by PhD student Rob Kelly, have been popular around Warwick since their first performance at the Warwick Student Arts Festival in 2012. Suggestions from the audience and an excellent pianist (Jonah Trenouth) shaped the way for the seven performers, with the host, Kelly, overseeing the proceedings.
The set-up for the musical is theatre in itself, with the audience shouting out suggestions for subject, song titles and characters that they’d like to see the company perform. Banter is passed between the stage and the audience, establishing the mood for the evening. On this occasion “No Likey, no Lighty”, a musical based on ITV show Take Me Out, was the most popular suggestion with the audience screaming appreciation for this theme. There was only one female performer onstage for the production (there are three in the company overall) and the context of a dating programme was ideal for this gender disparity.
Lonely “value host” Laddy McStrongbow (Jim Burrows) presented the dating programme which featured Barack Obama impressionist and Vicar, Joseph (Richard Odufisan) and Paddy McGuiness himself (Abhi Subramaniam) as two of the lonely-heart contestants. The main narrative revolved around the unhappily married Shelley and Phil’s (Katie Lambert and Joseph Henshaw) attempts to win a free holiday by appearing on Take Me Out. Meanwhile TV producer Brian Blessed (AJ King) and his put-upon assistant (Branagh Crealock-Ashurst) set out to spice up the programme as they meddled in the contestants’ affairs.
On the page, I’m sure this reads as a ridiculous premise for a musical. You’d be right; it was, and at first I was a little sceptical about how audience suggested characters Nigel Thrift and Brian Blessed would be included- but somehow it worked. Heart-wrenching ballads like “The Loneliest Job in the World” sung by a spot-lit Laddy McStrongbow added depth to the raucous plot and the audience’s reaction showed that it was appreciated. What’s great about such a surreal performance though, is that it becomes clear how well the company can improvise. Nothing is prepared prior to a performance, although the cast spend time rehearsing improvisational technique. Nevertheless, the ideas, dialogue and songs were well-structured and performed with the ease of a scripted musical. This is not to say it was a perfect production. At times the cast could have benefited from microphones and one or two plotlines weren’t committed to, but as the show moved on, the standard increased throughout.
It has to be admired just how successfully the company work together. These are all talented performers that gel as a group so that they’re not thrown as the narrative develops. Clearly the cast enjoy playing jokes on each other and these received howls of laughter from the audience- most notably, a simulated sex scene during one of the catchiest songs in the performance, “Sha La La Shag Me”. For three of the company, Thursday’s performance was their first show with The Improv Musical but, thanks to the confidence each member of the group has with the others, this was not noticeable.
The Improv Musical team have an energy that easily dispels into the audience. Their quick, often extremely rude humour and effective harmonies, make for an entertaining show. Judging by the reactions in the auditorium afterwards, this is a production that leaves people keen to see more. The Improv Musical will be performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at C venues from 30th July-27th August 2014. For more information, visit the production’s Facebook page at www.facebook.com/theimprovmusical.
Comments (1)