Edinburgh comedy festivals are not just for August – Be Bold, Be Playful, Be Unique, Be Fearless – just be there!
Back for its sixth year, the Edinburgh International Improv Festival is one worth seeking out. Running over four days, with a variety of shows and workshops for performers and groups, celebrating long form improvised comedy. Tucked in the cosy Scottish Storytelling Centre theatre, the friendly and supportive atmosphere is reflected in its audience, comprised of fellow performers as well as the general public. The director and producer, Jason Perez and Laura Hotchkiss, addressed the sold out crowd before introducing the Rawhide duo of Will Hines and Billy Merrit.
Will and Billy are both from the US, and have been both teachers and performers with the Upright Citizens Brigade, the famous state-side comedy institution. We were treated to an impressive 30 minutes of improv, based on a single audience suggestion – and in this case ‘Edge’. A mansion of purgatory unfolded, by way of buffets, trumpets, super-villains, bebop, stand-up comedy (What IS up with menus?) and snow cones, with our new friends Leopold and Reginald. An absolute riot. Both performers were excellent, but I found a particular affection for the accent of Billy, and could have listened to him all evening. The setting within the Storytelling Centre is perfect – it’s a well lit theatre with tiered seating, allowing separation of performance and the audience whilst still retaining intimacy.
A short break and on to the headline act – the Free Association Theatre (Graham Dickson, Naomi Petersen and Sophia Broido), with special guests Monika Smith, Suzi Barrett and Jim Woods. An international affair, with the special guests from Canada and the US, This Doesn’t Leave The Room was a wildly funny romp through a series of scenes based on audience suggestion (mucus this time, and an unfortunate insight into Jim’s former life in Amsterdam…) followed by The Bucket and the whole reason why This Doesn’t Leave The Room was unveiled.
In the break between shows, the audience had been encouraged to anonymously submit their darkest secrets to the bucket, which were drawn at random by the team. Without breaching the implied NDA, we were given insights into relationship firsts, school bullies, work friends, a fascinating insight into the Washington Post publication process, haunting haunted houses, and a recurring restaurant with juicy ingredients. Jim Woods ‘eating a burger’ acting deserves a special mention, as well as the dextrous Graham for the spaghetti serving platter.
The skill and talent of the performances was patently obvious and every scene elicited gales of laughter from the crowd. It’s a wonderful skill to be able to deftly turn the topic of mucus into a series of fun scenes without feeling it was resorting to gross out comedy, and call-backs to previous scenes were timed perfectly to maintain a narrative thread, without becoming repetitive. We were promised a scandalously fun show of daring, confessional improv comedy, which was delivered in spades.
As a taste of things to come for the rest of the Festival, tonight’s performance was a gorgeous display of how improv comedy can shine, and is sure to be reflected in the performances from the various teams over this weekend. A strong encouragement for fans of improv comedy to get their tickets where they can!