A very merry London Improvmas to y'all

Hold your breath, make a wish, count to three,
Come with me and you'll be in a world of ace improvisation,
Take a look and you'll see the power of imagination.
- Billy Wonka

Hey everyone,

It's that time of year when we don't do shows for a bit. Sad, isn't it? Do you miss us already? I do, and I am here, with us. It's a parabolic dome of emotion and the echoes of falling tears bounce in standing waves of sadness.

That's what you get when you ask a sound-engineer to write about feelings.

Regardless, we just thought we'd drop you a line and say We Will Be Back (Terminator, another great Christmas movie). London Improv shows start again on 10th January with our amazing all-inclusive Improv Party jam session. We did a similar thing at the end of the season last year and it was magnificent, so join us on the 10th, sign up and play. It will be monster-good.

The rest of the season is packed with some amazing acts from friends and groups old and new. Prepare yourself for regular showings of improvised Jane Austen novels, a reinvention of short-form, improvised puppetry and musicals, and - of course - our monthly improv smackdown Catch 23. Full listings will be up soon, but we're having a bit of a break. That's what you do this time of year, y'see.

Little known fact: most of the set in this clip was actually edible. Including Gene Wilder.
See you all soon, you lovely air particles,

Love and that
London Improv
x

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Jason Chin (iO Chicago) longform weekends in London and Brighton

Early bookings are now available for weekend longform workshops by Jason Chin, from the iO theatre in Chicago.

A student of Del Close, Jason Chin has been performing, directing, and teaching improvisation in Chicago since 1995. He was Director of the Training Center and Associate Artistic Director to the iO Theater for eight years and is the author of "Longform Improvisation & the Art of Zen". His creation, Whirled News Tonight, an improvised news satire, recently celebrated eight years of continuous performances.

He has taught and performed all over the world, from Chicago to Manila to Hawaii, and now he is coming to the UK to teach exclusively for the Maydays. This is a rare chance to get instruction from an experienced improviser coming from ground zero of modern longform.

Dates:
Brighton, February 4th/5th, 10am-5pm
London, February 11th/12th, 10am-5pm
Cost: £175 or £150 early bird if booking before Christmas (includes a free copy of Jason's Book 'Zen and the art of Longform Improvisation'
Locations TBC

For bookings and info, contact Heather Urquhart at mayday@themaydays.co.uk or 07818290562.

Prawns and Premieres: This Week at The London Improv Comedy Club

"Improv is a dish best served with sprinkles." That's what they says. Who they are no-one knows for sure but just as the Christmas elves are beyond the ice-wall waiting for the long Winter to send us into darkness, so is London Improv sitting on an ice-beach barbecuing a fine advent luncheon for you, buddy.

Tuesday 13th December

THE INFLATABLES
and DAVID SHORE & FRIENDS
Classic short-form impro from The Inflatables with loads of games and laughs and some special guests. If Who's Line Is It Anyway..? made a lasagne and filled it with air so it floated a couple of feet from the ground, you would call it The Inflatables. Also you would ask it who's feet they were and did the donor need them.

Then David Shore comes along with a super cast of lovely folk. Sara Pascoe, Briony Redman, Charlotte Gittins, Javier Jarquin and Richard Soames line-up for fun times in funville. They're all good aren't they?

Yes is the answer.

Tuesday 13th December
Time: Doors 7:30pm, Show 8pm - 10pm with interval.
Cost: £5 on the door.
Where: The Miller, 96 Snowsfields Road, London, SE1 3SS.


Wednesday 14th December
GRAND THEFT IMPRO
and THE PANEL SHOW
Grand Theft Impro ("At the forefront of the revival in impro" - The Guardian) give you an hour of fearlessly inventive, exciting and funny sketches, skits and songs, all made up on the spot, all inspired by audience suggestions. With a cast consisting of Dylan Emery (Showstoppers), Phil Whelans (Brass Eye) and Cariad Lloyd (Foster's Comedy award nominee) you'd be a silly so-and-so to not come along.

Grand Theft Impro.... mmm, like a hot soup on a winter's eve. With gruyere croutons. Tasty.

Then a whole new show happens as the pilot episode of The Panel Show airs on your stage-screens. Two actual real-life journalists arrive to discuss real topics along with our special guests, German Chancellor, Angela Merkel (aka. Sara Pascoe) and the creator of Dungeons & Dragons, Gary Gygax (aka. Paul Foxcroft). It's all improvised and it's all a piece of comedy chocolate heaven. Mmm, yum yum yum.

Wednesday 14th December
Time: Doors 7:30pm, Show 8pm - 10pm with interval.
Cost: £5 on the door
Where: The Miller, 96 Snowsfields Road, London, SE1 3SS.


Wednesday 14th - Friday 16th & Sunday 18th December
SILLY STRING THEORY
The Silly String cast hit their second week of shows with their awesome-sauce. If you were to cross a piece of deep thought-provoking theatre with a Jason Robert Brown musical and add an Alan Bennett topping, you'd be on the right track.

It's gorgeous theatre and wonderful improvisation and London Improv recommends it like a good pie.

Plus it's at The Canal Cafe Theatre, and they serve really good pies.

Dates between 14th - 18th December
Time: Doors 7:30pm, Show 8pm - 10pm with interval.
Cost: From £7.50 .. BOOK HERE
Where: The Canal Cafe Theatre, Delamere Terrace,
London, W2 6ND.


LONDONIMPROV: A REVOLUTION IN COMEDY & THEATRE

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EVERYTHING is going on: This week at The London Improv Comedy Club

Tuesday 6th December
STAND UP FOR THE FIRST TIME
New comedians performing stand up for the first time ever, mixed with experienced comedians performing brand new material and improvising routines off the cuff.
It's the friendliest and funnest stand-up night in town, in the funnest and friendliest venue in town.

This week we feature:
Luisa Omielan (compere), Monica Heisey, David Shore, Jon Davies, Roderick Millar, Steve Roe, Jules Garnett, Joe Bains, Chris Bennion, Andy Smith, Emily Howell, Peter Edwards, Joshua Morris, Toby Behrman, Neil Sinclair, Steven Scaffardi, Wanda Keenan, Jonny Armstrong, Daniel Glover-James.

Treats!

Tuesday 6th December
Time: Doors 7:30pm, Show 8pm - 10pm with interval.
Cost: FREE!
Where: The Miller, 96 Snowsfields Road, London, SE1 3SS.


Wednesday 7th December
HAPPY PLACE: HORSE & LOUIS & MARBLES & 8BIT & KATY SCHUTTE & GUESTS & OTHERS
Christmas approaches like a train with a mission, so London Improv has an early yuletide present for you: a line-up of excitement that would rival a pudding scoffing contest on a cruise ship.

Horse & Louie ("Plenty to enjoy" - Chortle) get some of the finest musical and comedy guests around, and present them to you with love. They have an amazing eye for talent and are experts in finding the secret gems that the comedy circuit has to offer. Rest assured if they've been chosen by H&L, they are a dead cert - genius-wise.

This week their guests are:

• Loaded Laftas Finalist 2011 Tom Toal, who Stephen K Amos describes as ‘F**king Hilarious’.
• London's finest pizza-based sketch comedy Quattro Formaggio and their ‘Life affirming and buoyant’ (Three Weeks) examination of life in the suburbs.
• The ‘sheer comic gold’ (Metro) of character comedian Dave McNeill who will romp some ‘mesmerising’ (Time Out) personae-driven hilarity.

And in the second half, 8bit team up with Ryan Miller and Katy Schutte to create an unbeatable delta force of long-form improvisation. It's a really special treat, almost like Marbles has teamed up with 8bit, and then added extra Katy Schutte.

Actually it's exactly like that.

There isn't a bucket in the universe that could contain the amount of talent there'll be in the room. Try to find one. You won't be able to.

Wednesday 7th December
Time: Doors 7:30pm, Show 8pm - 10pm with interval.
Cost: £5
Where: The Miller, 96 Snowsfields Road, London, SE1 3SS.


Thursday 8th - Sunday 11th December
SILLY STRING THEORY
At last, it's here! The buzz can finally reach it's crescendo.
One of the most exciting impro projects (don't do it... "improjects"... ugh) this year. The cast have been rehearsing solidly for 2 weeks and on Thursday will debut Silly String Theory.

This ground-breaking show picks strands from our lives and explores how we meet, part, love and live together.
Belly laughs and tears, loyalty and betrayal, the banal and the fantastic.
An ever-changing theatrical feast with understated Broadway-style songs.

It's a huge project and it's going to be phenomenal. Don't miss out....

Dates between 8th - 18th December
Time: Doors 7:30pm, Show 8pm - 10pm with interval.
Cost: From £7.50 .. BOOK HERE
Where: The Canal Cafe Theatre, Delamere Terrace,
London, W2 6ND.


LONDONIMPROV: A REVOLUTION IN COMEDY & THEATRE

Sign up to email updates at
LondonImprov@gmail.com

Doctor Who helps us help people who help people with cancer. And their helpers.

Well the psychic dust has settled after our phenomenal Doctor Who show last week. The TARDIS has been put in storage and the myrka returned to his stable in the Cotswolds.

Thanks to the ticket pre-sales and the tremendous generosity of the audience making additional donations on the night; London Improv are delighted to announce that the princely sum of £460 will be given to Dimbleby Cancer Care who look after people with cancer and their supportive families. We would like extend a massive thank you to the audience for the extra donations and really hope you all had as much fun as we did. Also huge thanks to the cast and front-of-house folk who mucked in and made the show the amazing success it was.

If you were one of the lucky ones who got to see the show, wasn't it amazing?! For those who didn't, just to let you know - it really was fantastic. You missed out.

Some of the best improvisers in London were joined on stage by a real-life Sontaran, a martyr for the struggle against the Daleks, and one of the greatest companions The Doctor has ever had. It was nothing less than marvellous and loads of people have said they want us to do it again. So we are going to. If that's okay.

We're not sure when, but follow us on Twitter (@London_Improv) or sign up to the mailing list (who@londonimprov.co.uk) and we'll let you know as soon as we do. We guarantee an amazing cast, at least as good as the one below. And we'll be working on getting even more special guests.

Now, has anyone got Pertwee's phone number?

CAST - DOCTOR WHO'S LINE IS IT ANYWAY?
Jana Carpenter (Spontaneity Shop, BBC's Doctor Who)
Dylan Emery (Grand Theft Impro, Showstoppers)
Paul Foxcroft (Horse Aquarium, Catch 23)
Michael Legge (BBC 6 Music, London Comedy Improv)
Adam Meggido (School of Night, Showstoppers)
Briony Redman (Horse Aquarium)
David Reed (The Penny Dreadfuls, Shamblehouse)
Tom Salinsky (Spontaneity Shop, TheatreSports)
Dan Starkey (Commander Strax - BBC's Doctor Who)
and
brilliantly
Sophie Aldred (Ace - BBC's Doctor Who)

CAST - THE OOD CAST LIVE
Andrew Candish
Chris Fosten
Chris Mead
Laura Mead
and Jonathan Funkhouse Monkhouse

SPECIAL THANKS TO: Jinni Lyons, Rhiannon Vivian, Adrian Simpson, Rob Grundel, Chrus Werren, Sarah Fletcher.