Kent-based improvisation group No Name Nomads are returning to this year’s Faversham Fringe after 2 sell out years with a new show ‘Heartbreak Motel’. This improvised piece will be performed at the Arden Theatre for one night only, and sees the company explore the constantly changing environment of a motel. I recently had the opportunity to ask member Adam De Ville some questions about their style of improv and plans for this show; finding out what it was about motels that inspired this concept.
What can you tell me about your improvisation group, No Name Nomads? How long have you been performing together?
We are a troupe of experienced improvisers from Whitstable, Faversham and Canterbury. We’ve been together for eight years or so. In our early days we met once a week to play short form improv. The group eventually developed into a core of storytellers journeying through both short form and long form improvisation.
This isn’t your first time performing at the Faversham Fringe. How would you describe your previous festival experiences?
Fun, welcoming and heartwarming – being part of a shared experience
This year’s show ‘Heartbreak Motel’ is a ‘totally improvised play which captures the transient life of a roadside motel’. What is it about the motel environment that inspired you to create a show centred around it?
Transient comings and goings of disparate people caught in a moment between here and there. We love the idea of brief encounters and fleeting moments, pockets of lives that intrigue and tug at the heart. A place where anything could happen from the sublime to the ridiculous.
What can you tell me about your style of improv? To what extent is each performance unique?
We don’t have scripts of course, and we think up the next project through improv games and exercises, and we are the sum of our parts in terms of individual technique and style. We love weaving stories from a word or line from the audience, creating a world alive and pulsating for the duration of the show. Each show is completely different, with our previous one set in an old curiosity shop. Our shows combine physical theatre, mime, and a cheeky little song and dance.
If you had to describe the show in one word, what would it be and why?
Fun. Because we hope you will have as much fun as we do improvising the show.
What do you hope Faversham Fringe audiences take away from the show?
To have had their minds tickled.
Watching ‘Heartbreak Motel’ at this year’s Faversham Fringe
I love the idea that the group is intrigued by brief encounters; it is sure to introduce some really interesting interactions in the improvised performance. You can catch No Name Nomads in action at the Faversham Fringe on Saturday 18th October at 7pm, with tickets available via the festival’s website.
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