Birmingham Improv Festival is bringing 100 performers to city as it returns this month
Staff Reporter
October 3, 2018
The countdown is on! One of the biggest improvisation festivals outside of London opens this month in Birmingham offering audiences 9 days of unique performances and professional workshops.
Birmingham Improvisation Festival 2018 will welcome over 100 performers to the Blue Orange Theatre and Birmingham Repertory Theatre from Friday 26th October to Saturday 3rd November.
Now firmly on the festival map, this year’s event sees a range of performers visiting the city from across the UK and internationally including New York, Edinburgh, London, Bristol, Ireland, Nottingham; alongside home-grown Troupes from Birmingham – now seen as a seedbed for improv talent!
Highlights for this year include the return of the West End’s Olivier award-winning improv musical Showstopper!, Birmingham’s Jumprov – the UK’s first ethnically diverse Improvisational Theatre Company – BBC Radio 4 and Edinburgh’s sell-out Superstars Austentatious; and the hilarious Neil Curran+1 (organiser of Ireland’s own Improv Festival) who will select at random a member of the audience to perform with him.
Handout London’s Concept Album make their festival debut with an entire new album improvised live, while North Coast will be bringing “mind blowing” Hip Hop Improv comedy direct from New York.
London’s Castles in the Air are set to improvise stories in the spirit of the films of Hayao Miyazaki, and Society of Strange aim to bring a seasonal touch to the festival with Halloween mystery and horror; while Birmingham’s very own Box of Frogs will perform at the city’s popular Glee Club.
As well as live performances the festival proudly presents a line-up of informative, creative and fun improv workshops led by professionals who will be performing across the 9 days.
Handout The workshops include Neil Curran with You’re Doing it Wrong! a chance to work with one of Ireland’s best improvisors focussing on what not to do in improv; Spontaneous Potter who present Find the Fun, Ruin the Plot! to find the fun in improvising narrative longform, while Impromptu Shakespeare will be creating ‘the scenes Shakespeare never wrote’.
The festival is particularly chuffed too be showcasing North Coast, especially from New York, who will present an Intro to Hip Hop Improv and a chance to set yourself up, find your flow, and weave your rapped verses in and out of your improv scene-work.
Not just all that, but the cast of the Olivier Award-winning Showstopper! will be providing an introduction to improvised musical theatre too.
Whether you’re a seasoned pro or an enthusiastic beginner, these workshops have something for every taste and talent.
Birmingham Improv Festival 2018 will also be hosting a special charity gala in aid of Birmingham Children’s Hospital on Sunday 28 October.
Handout Birmingham Improv Festival 2018 opens on Friday October 26 and runs until Saturday November 3, 2018. Tickets start from just £5. Full details and tickets at: www.birminghamimprovfestival.com.
