Review – The Improv Conspiracy: A Night in Chicago
Chicago style improvisation is the ruling format of improvised comedy, and for good reason. Eight members of the Improv Conspiracy (a fifty strong company) perform using two of the main formats of long form improv – the Harold and the deconstruction. If you don’t know what any of that means don’t worry, it’s explained at the opening of the show. In case it’s not clear: there is no script. It’s one of a kind, there’s nothing else in this style at the festival.
There is always a danger with improv that one performer will ‘corpse’ (drop from character or laugh) and the others will be left to pick up the pieces. Luckily, the improvisers are comfortable with one another, which allows for elements of absurdity to creep into the scenes reasonably smoothly. The jokes that do fall flat are quickly swept into the current of the show. There are one or two performers who tend to play it a little too straight, but mostly they compliment the wackier scenes. The freedom of the show is delightful, and it may even make you want to join in.
The Improv Conspiracy: A Night in Chicago is on Tuesdays – Saturdays throughout the Festival.
