The Improveteers!

121329 original

In the shadow of the mightiest improv comedy show known to the public at this year’s Fringe (Whose Line...), it must be slightly annoying for the smaller troupes. Stirling University once again buses down its student improv cohort, however, for this giggly 45 minutes of quick-witted interplay. Well-known games including ‘change’, ‘party guests’ and ‘playing God’ all feature in what could actually be a replica of Clive Anderson’s frantic TV show.

Stepping up are six wide-eyed contestants who all plunge us into surreal scenarios and perilous plotlines. The group is savvy, its members all comfortable with each other on stage; and they're quick to break out the pop culture references from the start, which helps to dispel the tension (something a room is often filled with at the start of an improv comedy show). From policemen and victims to party guests with no knees, this is a robust routine of weird, but confident and controlled, sketch material.

One wishes however that the sextet would submit to the whims of its audience more enthusiastically. We’re only taken into semi-strange territory, which is successful; but we're left with the feeling that an outright berserk hour would guarantee riotous applause, rather than the scattered clapping that just nudges the performers along. The group seems to be holding back, simply relying on their own incredulity to make us laugh. But their potential is clear. Perhaps with tougher crowds, they’ll learn to fight fire with fire when someone suggests “grave-digger” as a “quirky occupation”.