NZ Improv Festival

Bats Theatre

Tues 28 Oct – Sat 1 Nov

Improv Theatre is something which I find quite amazing, as the thought of just acting infront of a live audience scares me, so to both act and make up the script at the same time sounds terrifying! However, watching it is quite a different matter and I was stoked to be given the opportunity to choose three shows from the NZ Improv Festival to go and see. There was a good range of shows on offer and I had a hard time choosing which three took my fancy.

The first show I saw was Panto, by the Wellington Improv Troupe. The audience were asked for suggestions as to why the town (where the play took part) was famous and what the moral of the story was. There were all the classic fairy tale characters you would expect in a pantomime (and more), who sang, rapped and  danced their way through the show. The audience got into it to, calling out in traditional pantomime style whenever the ‘baddies’ came on stage. The story almost had a happy ending half way through, but luckily the characters were reminded that they still had another 20 minutes of imrovised plot to come up with, which resulted in a few key characters, including the beloved and comical horse, being culled. All in all a great performance!

On Thursday I went to In The Parlour, by Bonnet Productions.Self-described as an “English comedy of manners”, the characters had a distinct Jane Austin Pride and Prejudice feel to them. The main plot was centred around fixing up the small town’s only eligible bachelor, or should I say, a group of local women trying to get the town’s only single man (yes, it would have been nice to see it the other way round, but perhaps that would not have fit with the time)! They characters were loveable, comical  and authentic to the time, but with rather wonky British accents. I enjoyed it and found it funny, but have to admit I was a tad confused how or why it was Improv Theatre, as there was no indication that the actors were making the story up on the spot, and  there was no audience participation (apart from at the start, as the audience walked into the theatre and were greeting politely by the cast with the occasional tut-tutting if an audience member, such as myself, entered with an “alcoholic beverage”).

Also on Thursday I went to Oliver Twisted: An Improvised Dickens, by the ConArtists. The show started with a brief run-down on Dickens’ life and, to my relief, one did not need to be acquainted with his stories to enjoy the show! The audience selected the protagonist and the setting for the story. While I did not find it as humorous as the other two shows I went to, I thought all the actors were very good and there was a strong plot and character development throughout the story, which was rather lacking in the other two shows. The show was accompanied by a very talented young chap on the keyboard, whose name has slipped my mind, but I know that he is off to the States to seek his fame and fortune!

The NZ Improv Festival had a friendly and supportive atmosphere to it, with the actors from the different shows promoting and going to see the other shows which was nice. I only went to three shows, but could have quite happily gone to more, as each show was unique, quirky and showcased some great New Zealand talent!