Ahead of taking their show to the Edinburgh Fringe, Pinch Punch improv group’s Locomotive For Murder pulled up in Liverpool as part of the annual Liverpool Theatre Festival. Performing on one of the wettest July night’s ever, in the very much open air space of St. Luke’s Bombed Out Church, Pinch Punch transported the audience back to a world of Agatha Christie for an hour of quick-witted, unexpected and surreal comedy, mixed in with solving a murder.
Improvised Rubbish Shakespeare isn’t quite as the name suggests. Yes, there is improvisation with a Shakespearean twist, but this is far from rubbish. The Rubbish Shakespeare Company have created an engaging format that is a creative introduction to the language and style of Shakespeare, whilst also being an hilarious comedy. The premise of the show is William Shakespeare has failed to turn up for a performance meaning the cast have no scripts.
Most musical theatre writers spend years perfecting their work, testing out with audiences, and undoubtedly scrapping a fair few drafts along the way. Showstopper The Improvised Musical does away with all that, and instead produces a brand new musical at every performance using suggestions from the audience. They’re not just good at this, they’re Olivier award-winning good, so when we saw that they were performing at The Lowry there was no question that we had to go.