Last night i had to tell one of my Improv team mates [who had been out of the room] that they were the Minister of Finance at a Rodeo and that the murder weapon was a piece of Bread at which point they had to ‘kill’ me with the bread. Only problem is, i had to do the entire thing in a made up language called Gibberish. No English could be spoken at all. I know.

So lots of hirings and firings while handing money out, followed by being the bull and lassoing the bull and then finally spreading the piece of bread. We passed this onto four other people. The last person who watched a very different scene from the first, as it lost some translation as it passed through people who had only seen the actions of the previous person, guessed that they had been a magician at a bull-killing show [or an abbatoir where they let the animals leave – somehow a door had been introduced to that scene at one point] and that the murder weapon was a sandwich – close enough [especially cos if you think of it, our finance minister does need to be a bit of a magician]

WHOSE LINE WAS IT ANYWAY?

It was night one of our 4th ever Improguise Improv Festival which started with a traditional TheatreSports show, similar to ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ in format with a series of short games being played out by two teams in fierce competition based on a series of suggestions from the audience. The crowd that were there last night [including a whole group from a theatre in George that are busy on an arts tour of Cape Town shows and decided to take us in] really seemed to enjoy themselves immensely.

Other elements of the show included the inventor of a vacuum cleaner made entirely of biscuits [again he left the room while the audience decided something he had invented and an unlikely substance for it to be made out of and he had to come in and be interviewed and from clues guess what his invention was], a spaghetti [“or any form of pasta really”] western in which each actor provided the voice for a different actor on stage, a nudist encountering a butterfly collector on a remote walk [a scene that had to be replayed in three different accents] and a scene played out where at any point the MC could freeze the scene and ask for one of the character’s innermost thoughts which would then be provided in either a song, a poem or interpretive dance.

It was beautiful unadulterated mayhem of the best possible kind. And a completely generous loving audience.

And for just R80 [or cheaper if you’re a student or really really old] you can come any night this week and watch us perform a completely different type of show that will be absolutely made up on the spot. Tonight, for example, we will be making up a Documentary.

THE CRAZIEST DOCUMENTARY EVER

Maybe just let that sink in for a moment. A group of us will be creating an entire hour long documentary on a subject we have no idea about until the minute before we start it. Having been part of this Improguise team of Improv actors since 1999 it can become easy for us not to be blown away by how impressive that is going to be. But it completely is!

On Thursday night, i will be MCing the show and the actors will be creating an episode or two of a made up South African Soap Opera [a few years ago, Improguise put on a 14 hour long Soap Opera which i was sadly away for and i can’t even get my mind around that] and on Saturday night it will be a complete musical. Take a moment on that as well – five seconds before this group of actors walks on to stage and performs a complete musical for the audience, not a single song title or lyric or style will be known to them. It will all be absolutely 100% completely made up on the spot. A MUSICAL!!! You really have to see it to believe it.

And as much as when it is over, you will be sitting there unbelieving, muttering to yourself, “I know they practised. I know they had to have had those songs ready”, you will also know that to be absolutely impossible. Because who prepares a list of songs that will fit into a musical titled “The Prince and the Bunny” that was set on a remote island where the currency was coconuts? Or the musical “Pirate Mayhem on Highway 44” which was done completely in an Irish accent. Or whatever the title is that you give them on the night and whatever other elements they ask for that members of the audience will throw at them. This is completely made up. And it will blow your mind.

THERE IS ONE THING YOU HAVE TO DO THOUGH

While last night’s audience was great, we don’t have the craziest amount of bookings for the rest of the shows throughout this week, and scanning the audience last night i didn’t see a single person i knew and i know i have been punting the Documentary so am hoping you are saving yourselves for tonight [which i’m really excited about, and terrified at the same time] but we really NEED FOR YOU TO SHOW UP.

The show starts at 7.30 at the Galloway Theatre which is just outside the Waterfront in town and you can book your tickets by heading to www.tixsa.co.za and searching for festivals and clicking comedy. The best way to watch a show is with a group of friends so you can discuss it afterwards as no one else will ever get to see that particular show ever again. It is completely yours.

There is a whole week ahead [but come tonight!] – which show[s] are you coming to watch?