Showstopper! The Improvised Musical

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical description

Some shows are so unique they just run and run, and this is one of them, stuffed full of funnies performed by hilarious people inspired by silly suggestions from the audience. You want a musical in the style of Phantom of the Opera with reggae music and tap dance? Your wish is their command!

A dazzling success right from the start

This show has been making us laugh out loud since 2008. Eleven sell-out years and fourteen stints at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, two West End runs, an Olivier award and a BBC Radio 4 series have given the show exceptional classic comedy credentials.

It won 2019’s Olivier Award in the Best Entertainment and Family category, the first improv to achieve the honour, and it’s 100% improvised from beginning to end. Its reputation was heightened by an 8 week run at London’s Other Palace in early 2019 and monthly performances at the Lyric. And autumn of 2015 saw it becoming the first ever longform improv given a full West End run, packing out the Apollo Theatre time after time and lighting up theatreland with giggles.

The show was originally created by Adam Meggido and Dylan Emery, and backed by Keith Strachan, all three of whom remain on the team. As well as Meggido and Emery themselves the rotating cast includes Jonathan Ainscough, Ruth Bratt, Justin Brett, Matt Cavendish, Pippa Evans, Susan Harrison, Joshua C. Jackson, Ali James, Sean McCann, Philip Pellew, Andrew Pugsley, Lauren Shearing, Lucy Trodd, Heather Urquhart, and Sarah-Louise Young.

This is where you’ll find the finest spontaneous musical comedy. When you like your live entertainment completely different every night, it’s perfect. No wonder it’s loved far and wide as a must-see comedy experience.

The production kicks off with a plot: you meet a writer of musical theatre with a deadline but not a single idea in his head. He needs your help. Audience members shout out spontaneous suggestions for the setting, musical style, title and more, and the cast swings into action to turn a few random ideas into an all-singing, all-dancing musical that’s surprisingly sophisticated as well as seriously entertaining.

What will you see? You won’t know ‘til you get there!

Ingenious storylines and hilarious characters, crazy mix-ups and unusual combinations, the production covers everything from contemporary drama to theatre classics, Disney to stage versions of beloved movies, rendered in every style, from reggae to ska, soul to punk to disco and more. You suggest it, they perform it, and the result is pure comedy heaven. The cast never gets stale, audiences never get bored, and every performance is unique.

The cast is joined by a talented team of creatives, with direction from Meggido and Emery. The producers are James Seabright, Julie Clare, Julius Green, Keith Strachan, Irving Rappaport and Ray Cooney. The costumes are by Gabriella Slade and the Lighting Designer is Tim Mascall, the Set Designer is Simon Scullion and the Musical Director is Duncan Walsh Atkins.

The Sound comes from Tom Lishman and the rotating team of musicians involves Craig Apps, Alex Atty, Christopher Ash, Jordan Clarke, Pete Furniss, Nathan Gregory, Calie Hough, Chloe Potter, Duncan Walsh Atkins and Andrew Woolf. The Production Manager is Paul Hennessy and the Lighting Improviser is Damian Robertson.

Playing at Cambridge Theatre (venue info)

Performance Times for Showstopper! The Improvised Musical