Review of 'LIGHTS! CAMERA! IMPROVISE!'
by Sarah Lines for The Good Review

Writing a review of an improv show can often be a difficult task, as obviously the show itself, which is created from an audience suggestion of genre and title, changes every night. The premise however remains the same, The Scat Pack have chosen to stage their improv show in the style of a movie, with a director guiding and shaping the action. He asks the audience for their choice of genre and title and the other seven performers produce the show.

The show I saw was entitled “Turd Rock from the Sun” and was a sci-fi thriller about a sewage system on Mars. The troup quickly established interesting and memorable characters, and, with guidance from the director, produced a show which was both entertaining and funny. The director did a wonderful job of guiding the performance, providing comments on the action to the benefit, and often detriment, of his fellow performers. The performers themselves worked together well, often bringing back characters or information from previous scenes, creating the illusion of a scripted piece which lead to a very professional and fluid performance. Their comic timing was brilliant and their awareness of the audience allowed them to quickly realise which characters and story lines to focus on and which to phase out. They supported each other well, covering each other’s mistakes and fully embracing the scenes their co-stars set up, including a full west-end musical scene complete with opening song.

As with any improv show there were mistakes, characters and names were forgotten or changed throughout the performance, more than one performer was caught corpsing, and misunderstandings did occur. However the cast coped well throughout the performance, supporting each other through the inconsistencies and commenting on the mistakes where appropriate, to allow them to re-establish their control over the action, creating a show which appeared both effortless and hugely enjoyable. Lights Camera Improvise is a fantastic show, at times it was hard to believe the performance was created on the spot. The cast are tuned into each other and their audience to such a degree that they create a show that was a delight to witness. It is definitely worth a watch.

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