The Improverts

As The Improverts stroll confidently into their 19th consecutive year at the Festival you'd have to forgive them for being a little bit smug. In addition to their year-round performances as part of the Edinburgh University Theatre Company and their hugely successful annual Fringe run, they've launched a plethora of comic talent onto a higher stage and become something of an Edinburgh comedy institution in the process.

Tonight's crowd are encouraged to whoop, cheer and generally make a nuisance of themselves as much as possible as the Improverts' players play through a series of Whose Line is it Anyway? style games. It's certainly a well spirited night: the players seem to enjoy the exchanges and much giggling is had on stage, and if the improvisation is a tad stilted at times (although being asked to make a song about frying pans on the spot would be beyond most of us, I suspect) then the enthusiastic crowd certainly don't show any sign of caring.

As is the nature of an improvisation act no two shows will be remotely similar so the quality of the show is bound to fluctuate, but while a few sketches fell flat they were more than made up for by a abundance of lightening fast comedy elsewhere. Yet even if the show can't guarantee you quality comedy every single night it can assure you of an hour of boundless energy and a cast incredibly confident in their talents. Maybe just a little bit smug, too.