The Improv Musical: “a romping, capering, delightful hour of self-aware fun”

Great improvisation is tough. No other craft puts the onus on the performer quite like improv. Musical Theatre Warwick’s The Improv Musical sees six students improvise a seven-song musical based on a setting and two characters as chosen by the audience.

Graham Stott had the unenviable task of acting as a theatrical maître d’. Our host for the night, he was responsible for simultaneously tempering and inciting the audience’s mobbish disposition; their suggestions ranged from the dull to the absurd to the outrageous. Stott’s on-stage persona is one of casual serenity, and he carried off his task with perhaps underappreciated swagger. It is no easy task to maintain decorum in a theatre full of one’s own peers, but he did just that with an aptly informal temperament.

Stott’s on-stage persona is one of casual serenity, and he carried off his task with perhaps underappreciated swagger

Having rummaged through the audience’s funny bones, Stott announced the ‘opening and closing night’ of an original musical set at Harry and Meghan’s Royal Wedding, featuring: the Troll from Harry Potter (no, me neither), and the Green Man from pedestrian crossings. A chorus of suggestions were cried out, with ‘Catfish’ being selected as the musical’s title. Having consulted the recesses of the internet, it emerges that a Catfish is someone who adopts a fake online persona in order to begin an illicit romance: a form of ‘trolling’. Within the context of this musical, it is really rather a funny title.

The cast pounced on an upbeat opening number in which they shuttled the stage making wedding preparations; behind their eyes the cogs began to whirl. So the formula goes, after the opening group number, the cast pair off and perform three consecutive two-hander scenes before ending Act I. As with any comedy, it is Act I where a company earns their laughs in Act II. This troupe did exactly that. In their respective scenes each performer established a bold, physical character with amusing ticks, traits and mannerisms, many of which would be used as call-backs or inverted later on for a well-deserved laugh. Particular credit in this regard goes to Josh Dixon who bravely but not unjustifiably took on the role of a male Meghan Markle (Catfish… all coming together?) and Grace Lovegrove, whose Green Man (imagine Stacey Solomon on acid) was a crowd pleaser.

In their respective scenes each performer established a bold, physical character with amusing ticks, traits and mannerisms

The cast bounced through Act I with admirable verve and a plot one could just about follow. There were some sharp intakes of breath as Emma Tarcy assumed the role of African American preacher Bishop Michael Curry and Jacob Buckley labelled his own Jamaican-cum-Brummie character a ‘chav’. However their mutually impressive vocals and Buckley’s unrivalled enthusiasm took them through their song ‘You’ve Got to be Great’, before Caroline Taylor and Ethan Peters closed Act I as two trolls invited to the Royal Wedding, with Peters delivering the show’s best line: “Weddings… we’ve had one, one’s enough.” Credit is due to Tarcy and Taylor who played relatively small roles but went about their ensemble work in a fashion that proves improv to be a team game.

The second and final act began with a song imitating the Nintendo Wii soundtrack in which the much beloved Green Man turned red. Josh Dixon provided the undisputed vocal of the night with his rousing, even oddly moving rock ballad ‘Not Gonna Hide’. The plot was rather gloriously tied up as Dixon’s Meghan Markle fell for the Green Man who, having found love, was restored to his original colour.

The skill, creativity and musical nous required to accompany the show is unquestionable

The hour was rounded off with a group number comprised of somewhat dubious harmonies and the repeated refrain: “You Don’t Have to Hide”. It was a show deserving of a better closing number, but the hard work had already been done, and the audience had, rightly, been won over. It was fitting that keyboardist Ollie Base, swallowed by shadows stage left, received a tremendous ovation. The skill, creativity and musical nous required to accompany the show is unquestionable.

I have been fortunate enough to see The Improv Musical on many occasions over a number of years. The personnel changes, but the show’s formula remains the same. It is a show that is inevitably rough around the edges; improvisation is after all extremely difficult. However the issues with amateur improv blur into relative insignificance when one appreciates The Improv Musical for what it is: a romping, capering, delightful hour of self-aware fun. The best improv knows when to break the fourth wall and recognise its own ridiculousness. Perhaps this troupe does so too often, but only because the performers are genuinely enjoying what they’re doing, which in itself is commendable. So long as the troupe don’t lose their sprightly charm, so long as they don’t take themselves too seriously, then the future looks bright for The Improv Musical. Its fresh-faced cast are breathing new life into a show that had begun to look somewhat démodé. At the helm they have the formidable presence of Daisy Lee (Producer) and Graham Stott (President) who are sure to keep a steady hand on the tiller, as the troupe head north to the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and all her waggish delights.