Improverts
Encyclopedia
The Improverts is the long-running improvisational comedy troupe of the Edinburgh University Theatre Company which primarily performs out of the Bedlam Theatre
, Edinburgh
. They perform every Friday night at 10.30pm during Edinburgh University's term time and every night during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at half past midnight.
in 1989 by Canadian-born Toph Marshall. He named it Theatresports
after the form of competitive improvisation developed by director Keith Johnstone
in Calgary
, Canada
in 1976. As the show grew in popularity the name was changed, during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, (for copyright reasons) to Impro-Vegetables and then finally, in the 90s, to The Improverts. The Improverts was adopted as a permanent, year-round name from September 1997 onwards.
Since the show's inception it has kept the Bedlam Theatre
as its primary performance space, running weekly during Edinburgh University's term time and then at the Edinburgh Fringe. Each year new players are recruited largely, though not exclusively, from the student population though every player must be a member of the Edinburgh University Theatre Company. The troupe provides free weekly workshops in improvisation for the general public in order to attract new talent to the group.
Carrying on the teachings of Keith Johnstone
, the show's format has twisted and changed over time, but stayed within the short-form sketch
mould made famous by TV's Whose Line is it Anyway?
.
Bedlam Theatre
Bedlam Theatre is a student-run theatre owned by the University of Edinburgh and notable for being the oldest student-run theatre in Britain.It is housed in the former New North Free Church building at the foot of George IV Bridge in Edinburgh; a building which was designed by Thomas Hamilton, an...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
. They perform every Friday night at 10.30pm during Edinburgh University's term time and every night during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe at half past midnight.
History
The Edinburgh University Theatre Company's improvised comedy troupe now known as The Improverts was founded in EdinburghEdinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
in 1989 by Canadian-born Toph Marshall. He named it Theatresports
Theatresports
Theatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges...
after the form of competitive improvisation developed by director Keith Johnstone
Keith Johnstone
Keith Johnstone is a drama instructor whose teachings and books have focused on improvisational theatre and have had a major influence on the art of improvisation.-Education:...
in Calgary
Calgary
Calgary is a city in the Province of Alberta, Canada. It is located in the south of the province, in an area of foothills and prairie, approximately east of the front ranges of the Canadian Rockies...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 1976. As the show grew in popularity the name was changed, during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, (for copyright reasons) to Impro-Vegetables and then finally, in the 90s, to The Improverts. The Improverts was adopted as a permanent, year-round name from September 1997 onwards.
Since the show's inception it has kept the Bedlam Theatre
Bedlam Theatre
Bedlam Theatre is a student-run theatre owned by the University of Edinburgh and notable for being the oldest student-run theatre in Britain.It is housed in the former New North Free Church building at the foot of George IV Bridge in Edinburgh; a building which was designed by Thomas Hamilton, an...
as its primary performance space, running weekly during Edinburgh University's term time and then at the Edinburgh Fringe. Each year new players are recruited largely, though not exclusively, from the student population though every player must be a member of the Edinburgh University Theatre Company. The troupe provides free weekly workshops in improvisation for the general public in order to attract new talent to the group.
Carrying on the teachings of Keith Johnstone
Keith Johnstone
Keith Johnstone is a drama instructor whose teachings and books have focused on improvisational theatre and have had a major influence on the art of improvisation.-Education:...
, the show's format has twisted and changed over time, but stayed within the short-form sketch
Sketch comedy
A sketch comedy consists of a series of short comedy scenes or vignettes, called "sketches," commonly between one and ten minutes long. Such sketches are performed by a group of comic actors or comedians, either on stage or through an audio and/or visual medium such as broadcasting...
mould made famous by TV's Whose Line is it Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway? is a short-form improvisational comedy TV show. Originally a British radio programme, it moved to television in 1988 as a series made for the UK's Channel 4, for a 10 series run...
.
Notable alumni of the Improverts
- Maria BamfordMaria BamfordMaria Bamford is an American stand-up comedian and voice actor. She is best known for her portrayal of her dysfunctional family and self-deprecating comedy involving jokes about depression. Her comedy style draws upon surrealism and incorporates voice impressions that good-naturedly mock various...
( The Comedians of ComedyThe Comedians of ComedyThe Comedians of Comedy is an occasional stand-up comedy tour featuring alternative comedians Patton Oswalt, Zach Galifianakis, Brian Posehn and Maria Bamford that was documented in a 2005 film and 2005 Comedy Central television series of the same name, both directed by Michael Blieden...
) - Mitch BennMitch BennMitch Benn is a British musician and stand-up comedian known for his humorous songs performed on BBC radio. He is a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4's satirical programme The Now Show, and has hosted other radio shows.Benn has performed at several music festivals, and at the Edinburgh Festival...
( The Now ShowThe Now ShowThe Now Show is a British radio comedy broadcast on BBC Radio 4, which satirises the week's news. The show is a mixture of stand-up, sketches and songs presented by Steve Punt and Hugh Dennis...
, Mitch Benn's Crimes Against MusicMitch Benn's Crimes Against MusicMitch Benn's Crimes Against Music is a BBC Radio 4 comedy series, taking a satirical look at popular music. It is written by and stars Mitch Benn and Robin Ince. It also features Mitch's group The Distractions and in the first two series Alfie Joey...
) - Jenny ColganJenny ColganJenny Colgan is a British chick-lit novelist, author of romantic comedies such as "Amanda's Wedding", "Looking for Andrew McCarthy" and most recently "The Good,the Bad and the Dumped"...
( Amanda's Wedding, Looking for Andrew McCarthy, West End Girls ) - Mark DolanMark DolanMark Dolan is an English comedian, writer and TV presenter. Dolan was born in Camden, North London, where he eventually returned and now lives with his wife and son.-Television:...
( Balls of Steel ) - Miles JuppMiles JuppMiles Jupp is a British actor and comedian, probably best known as Archie in the children's television series Balamory....
( BalamoryBalamoryBalamory was a live action television series on British television for pre-school children, based around the fictional small island community of Balamory in Scotland. It was produced between 2002 and 2005 by BBC Scotland, with 254 episodes made...
, Miles Jupp's Real World ) - Humphrey KerHumphrey KerHumphrey Ker is a British actor and an award winning comedian. He is one third of comedy troupe The Penny Dreadfuls.-History:Between 2001 and 2005, Humphrey performed with Edinburgh based improvisational comedy troupe The Improverts...
( The Brothers FavershamThe Penny Dreadfuls present...The Brothers FavershamThe Penny Dreadfuls Present... is a British radio comedy programme, written and performed by comedy troupe The Penny Dreadfuls, with each episode looking at a different member of The Brothers Faversham, a collection of heroes of Victorian Britain. The first series was produced and broadcast by the...
, Fast and LooseFast and Loose (2011 TV series)Fast and Loose is a BBC television series on BBC Two. Guests take part in numerous improvised sketches in which each comedian inhabits a certain character or movie genre...
) - Lucy KirkwoodLucy KirkwoodLucy Kirkwood is a British playwright. She is writer in residence at Clean Break Theatre Company.Kirkwood is from East London and has a degree in English Literature from the University of Edinburgh where she performed as part of the improvisational comedy troupe, The Improverts.-History:In 2005,...
(Geronimo, Tinderbox ) - Ewen Macintosh ( The OfficeThe Office (UK TV series)The Office is a British sitcom television series that was first broadcast in the United Kingdom on BBC Two on 9 July 2001. Created, written, and directed by Ricky Gervais and Stephen Merchant, the programme is about the day-to-day lives of office employees in the Slough branch of the fictitious...
) - Kevin McKiddKevin McKiddKevin McKidd is a Scottish television and film actor and director. Before playing the role of Owen Hunt in Grey's Anatomy, McKidd starred as Lucius Vorenus in the historical drama series Rome, and provided the voice of Captain John "Soap" Mactavish in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and the sequel...
( TrainspottingTrainspotting (film)Trainspotting is a 1996 British satirical/drama film directed by Danny Boyle based on the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh. The movie follows a group of heroin addicts in a late 1980s economically depressed area of Edinburgh and their passage through life...
, Dog Soldiers, Rome ) - David ReedDavid Reed (comedian)David Reed is a British actor, writer and comedian and one third of comedy troupe The Penny Dreadfuls.-Career:Between 2001 and 2005, David performed with Edinburgh based improvisational comedy troupe The Improverts in their weekly short form improvised sketch show as well as regularly appearing in...
( The Brothers FavershamThe Penny Dreadfuls present...The Brothers FavershamThe Penny Dreadfuls Present... is a British radio comedy programme, written and performed by comedy troupe The Penny Dreadfuls, with each episode looking at a different member of The Brothers Faversham, a collection of heroes of Victorian Britain. The first series was produced and broadcast by the...
, Fast and LooseFast and Loose (2011 TV series)Fast and Loose is a BBC television series on BBC Two. Guests take part in numerous improvised sketches in which each comedian inhabits a certain character or movie genre...
) - Al SmithAl Smith (playwright)Al Smith is a British dramatist and theatre director.In February 2005, Smith directed Chalk, which he had written, and produced under his own production company name Kandinsky, at the Bedlam Theatre...
( Enola, Radio ) - Thom TuckThom TuckThom Tuck is a British actor and comedian and one third of comedy troupe The Penny Dreadfuls.-History:Between 2001 and 2005, Thom acted in over thirty productions at the Bedlam Theatre in Edinburgh as well as directing and writing shows and performing with improv troupe The Improverts.In 2006, he...
( The Brothers FavershamThe Penny Dreadfuls present...The Brothers FavershamThe Penny Dreadfuls Present... is a British radio comedy programme, written and performed by comedy troupe The Penny Dreadfuls, with each episode looking at a different member of The Brothers Faversham, a collection of heroes of Victorian Britain. The first series was produced and broadcast by the...
)