REVIEW: Screwball: An Improvised Misadventure
I’d always wanted to go to an improv show so when I heard about Screwball: An Improvised Misadventure at the Bristol Improv Theatre…well, colour me intrigued.
With the audience sat at candle lit tables and live, improvised jazz piano floating through the air, I was living a 1930s fantasy, which was cemented when the performers took to the stage and laid the scene for the show - 1930's Hollywood screenwriters brainstorming a new script.
They asked the audience for something they like doing - someone replied “walking my dog” and somewhere they like going - someone replied “Ikea”. And thus the seed of the newborn story “Off The Leash” was planted.
From this simple starting point the performers steered us down an unexpected and hilarious highway, each hopping between multiple characters, accents and scenarios like it’s nothing. The story (which is different every night and did I mention TOTALLY MADE UP ON THE SPOT?!) went from a comedy, to a crime drama to a romance and everywhere in between, becoming increasingly complex with each turn, until it somehow wrapped all up in a satisfying bow at the end.
Throughout this the pianist accompanied the action with gorgeous jazz chords and provided a soundtrack for the actors to break into genuinely touching vocal solos that reflected on the story as it was happening.
The seasoned performers were a joy to watch from the start, each one shining in their own way. The regular fourth wall breaks brought us in close to the action - we shared moments where new ideas were spontaneously spawned which went onto snowball into larger plot points, and even moments where small hiccups were taken in stride and flipped into hilarious bits.
Please get yourself down to The Bristol Improv Theatre to see Screwball: An Improvised Misadventure, for a refreshing and exciting live theatre experience.
Check out Bristol Improv Theatre and their upcoming dates here.
Written by Joe Brashaw
