THEATRESPORTS at the Museum of Comedy

★★★★

“a slapdash and chaotic style which is mostly fun”

Theatresports sees two teams of improvisers battle head-to-head in a series of short form improv games to challenge and flex their creativity and wit. The audience has the power to decide the points, with applause and laughter. It’s a type of improvisation show that’s been around since the ‘70s, but when comedy troupe Kerfuffle do it, the winning team snags a 3D printed Kerfuffle trophy. High stakes.

It’s fun to watch people have fun, and the performers are clearly having as great a time as the audience. In one game a performer must repeatedly interrupt a sketch, forcing the improvisers to come up with ever more outlandish one-liners. In another every question must be met with a question. In a third, the improvisers must incorporate audience one liners into a normal conversation. The games are designed for maximum silliness, and the performers provide that in spades.

The competitive format is slightly flawed, the audience are reluctant to give anyone one point (or really any less than five) so it does mean a fairly friendly competition. But no one cares. The ineffectual scoring system is part of the charm. The night I’m there, the audience manages to gain points themselves, by shouting out particularly funny answers, and ultimately wins the game.

The hosts, Charlie and Viki Jackson, lean into a slapdash and chaotic style which is mostly fun. Sometimes it feels like it can bring down the energy a bit, but the format still races along. The games and sketches are all cut before they grow stale, but always allow enough time for the ridiculousness to run its course.

Much of improv is about sharing and communicating and throughout the night that energy felt natural and not forced. It was so nice to see the more experienced performers and people who were clearly newer to improv perform together, happily sharing the space. There was no showboating, or jostling to be the star, the group felt inclusive and kind, and that was reflected in the generous and engaged audience.

Kerfuffle is an expert troupe, and their shows lean into their joyous, messy comedy, with passion, teamwork and fun.

THEATRESPORTS at the Museum of Comedy

Reviewed on 18th August 2023

by Auriol Reddaway

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Theatresports

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★★★★

“The comradery both on and off stage is so wholesome that despite there officially being a winner at the end of the night, it doesn’t really make much odds”

Death Match by name perhaps, but this is one of the nicest comedy nights I’ve ever witnessed.

“You’re not to worry, we won’t pick on anyone”, our compere reassures us as he encourages folk to the front row. This is pretty much the atmosphere throughout the hour-long: no audience participation excepting, of course, the traditional shouting out of subjects for the troupe to improvise, and a general sense that we’re all just lovely people having a lovely time.

The evening consists of gently jostling improv games in which the two teams- red and blue- take turns to win the crowd over, after which we’re to shout ‘red’ or ‘blue’ to determine a winner. These include a ‘Just a minute’ style storytelling, a classic tap-in scene game, and several on-the-spot song performances that are impressively catchy- “Five Green Fingers (and a thumb)” is a genuine banger, and I believe the red team was robbed of their victory on that one.

Improv is always necessarily a fairly safe space, given that it requires the performers to be so completely uninhibited and ready to look like idiots at any given moment. But this feels particularly well meaning.

Without microphones the performers are required to project over the Friday night crowd, making it feel more like a Christmas family gathering than a hardy competition: Everyone yelling out stupid suggestions, shushing each other when someone’s on stage, and the improvisers themselves often shouting encouragement to their opposing team, “That was really good, that”. The comradery both on and off stage is so wholesome that despite there officially being a winner at the end of the night, it doesn’t really make much odds.

After seven years on the go, this is, so we’re told, the longest running Camden Fringe show, and I see no reason why it shouldn’t enjoy an eighth.

THEATRESPORTS at the Museum of Comedy

★★★★

“a slapdash and chaotic style which is mostly fun”

THEATRESPORTS at the Museum of Comedy

Reviewed on 18th August 2023

by Auriol Reddaway

More Camden Fringe Reviews

Theatresports

Theatresports

IMPROV DEATH MATCH at the Aces and Eights

★★★★

“The comradery both on and off stage is so wholesome that despite there officially being a winner at the end of the night, it doesn’t really make much odds”

IMPROV DEATH MATCH at the Aces and Eights

Reviewed on 18th August 2023

by Miriam Sallon

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Improv Death Match

Improv Death Match