From the stalls, the ensemble had a fizzy, mutually supportive feel. That's not an uncommon feeling on an improv night, but this felt more conscious and individual than the heady team atmosphere that characterises a night such as Austenatious Presents. That impression was particularly keen in the in-scene callbacks to themes raised by performer's opening monologues (Lloyd's career success - she's currently in Crims on BBC3 - was a prominent example), and in the unfussy way that, in a scene being driven by two improvisers, some of the rest would happily go to work in the background.
These are not unusual things in improv, but their seamless and happy application across the night was a joy. Highlights included Briony Redman's punchlines, and blankly gruff impersonation of Christian Bale; Lloyd's fabulously specific, monstrous performance as a 'good mother' who introduces visitors to her 'fire cupboard' (not a euphemism), along with her embodiment of Satan; Lauren Shearing (I think - this is a hazy bit; blame the gin) as a happily stupid Rupert Grint; and Susan Harrison's unnervingly effective impression of Hermione in the same scene.
Abra Tabak's Hollywood agent, who handled both 'Grint' and 'Bale' with the same cynical, nails-on-the-chalkboard screech, was great fun to watch, and her callback towards the end - about zombies living in books - was all the more satisfying because it took a second for the audience to remember what the hell she was talking about (the seed for that came at beginning). The endpoint was also lovely - an emotional moment between two zombies looking for love that managed to both deliver laughs and emotion (at least for me - again, perhaps, blame the gin). Good endings are hard, and this was a very nice one.
The structure? A brief warm-up, in which members of the audience were encouraged to pronounce their love for each other (not everyone was 'down' with this), then a word from the audience prompted a monologue that prompted scenes, before coming back to the audience for another word; another monologue, more scenes; and so on. Still, the night was so fluid, I barely thought about the process - sometimes, the process is mined as part of the joke, sometimes the high-wire element of improv is entertainment in itself - but this was such a slick experience that you forgot about the nuts and bolts altogether. Pure class.
Further reading:
Susan Harrison's podcast.
Cariad Lloyd's sketch show pilot.
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