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★★★★
A show that has been on my radar in London for a long time is ‘Showstopper! The Improvised Musical’, which is performed at the Cambridge Theatre in the West End on specific Monday nights when ‘Matilda’ is not scheduled to perform. The improvisational company is known for creating a musical on the spot, featuring a live band, and taking audiences on a hilarious musical journey. Back for their 15th Edinburgh Fringe, this summer the company is performing at the expansive Grand venue at Pleasance Courtyard until 25th August.
Improvisational format
Every ‘Showstopper’ performance is different, with the host of the production and the show’s ‘writer’ (Dylan Emery, who also happens to be the Co-creator/Director) explaining that the company needs help creating a new Broadway musical on a deadline. Looking to the audience for ideas of a location and three musicals to take inspiration from, this is where the interactive elements start and set the direction of the narrative.
For Thursday’s performance the setting was a house that comes to life and the chosen musicals were ‘Hair’, ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ and ‘Wicked’, which was certainly a unique combination. The musical was given the title ‘Josh’, inspired by a spectator’s own name, with the company rolling their eyes at the challenge and encouraging natural interactions with the audience in the process.
Comedy value
‘Showstopper’ features silly, unfiltered humour and lots of physical comedy. Surprisingly, it is the comedy that stands out most over the musical elements, with the music being used as a comedy tool. This is most likely the case because of the imaginative suggestions from the audience at this particular performance and the fact that you cannot take inspiration from ‘The Rocky Horror Picture Show’ without creating some amusing, exaggerated characters. Standout performers in the one night only ‘Josh’ were Pippa Evans and Lucy Trodd, who played the zany, enigmatic neighbours Anthony and Joyce.
Writer intervention
At moments throughout the performance, the writer steps in and amplifies the comedy of the script, asking the actors to perform a section in a specific format or style. Whilst it certainly contributes to the humour, in places I found the intervention a little disruptive, totally in awe of the rapid thinking of the cast and wishing that the actors had been given more free range to go it alone in their performance approach.
The writer also contributes by defining scenes that should be inspired by one of the three suggested musicals. It would have been interesting to see these segments not so time boxed, with more of the plot inspired by the audience’s favourite musicals.
Impressive on the spot creativity
The comedy elements and high production value are what makes this musical show stand out within the improvisation genre. It is a show that could be easily watched again as there is no doubt the next time you see the company perform, they would come up with something completely different. ‘Showstopper! The Improvised Musical’ is playing at Pleasance Courtyard – Grand until 25th August (excluding 13th), with performances starting at 17:30 and tickets available via the festival website. After Edinburgh, the show will return to the West End in the Autumn for Monday performances, as a full-length 2-hour production with an interval.
Thanks for reading my blog today.
Love Kat xxxx
*My ticket for ‘Showstopper: The Improvised Musical’ was gifted in exchange for an unbiased review.
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