ED2014 Comedy ED2014 Three To See ED2014 Week0 Edition

Three To See 2014: Top Improv Comedy Tips

By | Published on Thursday 24 July 2014

Cariad Paul

ThreeWeeks co-Editor Caro developed a sincere love of improv comedy during her years as a student in Edinburgh, when attending the regular Friday night ‘Theatresports’ at the Bedlam Theatre (now ‘The Improverts’ of course) became a routine. The Fringe’s comedy programme is absolutely full of improv shows though, and surely they can’t all be brilliant…? No, they can’t. But here are three that Caro is expecting great things from.

Austentatious: An Improvised Jane Austen Novel
I’m an occasional indulger in both Austen novels and ‘TV bonnet shows’ (or costume drama, as people more usually call them), and, as you may have gathered, I quite like comedy, so this show attracted me from the first time I saw it in the programme in 2011. As you may expect from the title, the theme here is the ‘lost’ works of Jane Austen, and what you can expect from this talented troupe is a brand new, different and consistently funny story in every show. This is their third year at the Festival, and they’ve previously received two glowing reviews from us  featuring the use of hyperbolic phrases such as “supremely talented”, “blinding one-liners” and “nothing short of heroic”. Yes, they are that good.
Pleasance Dome, from 30 Jul until 25 Aug. Tickets here

Cariad & Paul: A Two Player Adventure (pictured)
As well as liking their quality improv, ThreeWeeks reviewers are known to be very vocal in their praise of the very super (and also Edinburgh Comedy Award Newcomer nominated) character comedian Cariad Lloyd, and although we are less well acquainted with the live work of Paul Foxcroft, we are very much aware of just how brilliant this show was last year. These two are consummate skilled improvisers, by the sounds of it; to the point that certain viewers last year had trouble believing it was genuinely improvised. There are only a few shows, so be careful, don’t miss it.
Pleasance Dome, from 18 Aug until 23 Aug. Tickets here

Oh boy! The Quantum Leap Show
When I saw the title of this next show I was almost ready to tell everyone to go home right away, because this lot have won the Fringe. But I do appreciate that these are the possibly slightly worrying sentiments of someone who was, as a younger person, ever so slightly (completely?) addicted to US TV import ‘Quantum Leap’. If you’ve never heard of it (shame on you), it’s a sci-fi-ish show about a very nice man who is forced to flit around in time, putting right what once went wrong. This show offers a new and improvised episode every day, and while the team behind this – The Maydays – may not actually be Scott Bakula and Dean Stockwell, they are a well established and respected group of improvvers. Woooo!
Cowgatehead, from 1 Aug until 24 Aug. Tickets here



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