Whose Festival Is It Anyway
Published 4th Jun 2008 by Chris Challis

Welcome to Brighton?s first-ever Improv Festival! Improv comedy is soaring in popularity, with repeats of Whose Line is it Anyway on almost every time you look at the TV, but nothing beats the atmosphere of watching improv live. Luckily Brighton has not one but two top-notch improv comedy outfits ? The Maydays and Off The Cuff ? and they?re joining forces to present the UK's only improv comedy festival this year: 'The Improvathon' - an exciting weekend of improv comedy workshops and shows from Friday 27th June to Sunday 29th June.

Launching the festival on Improvathon Friday, Off The Cuff will perform their highly acclaimed improv show at the Hare and Hounds. During the show they will take an audience suggestion for the title of a forty minute play which will be written by them overnight and performed as the polished piece A Play in a Day a mere twenty four hours later on Improvathon Saturday. Also on Improvathon Friday The Maydays will be performing their famed show Mayday! The Musical at the Ropetackle Centre in Shoreham at 8pm (?8 advance ?10 on the door).

On Improvathon Saturday at the Komedia Studio Bar, The Maydays are teaching a workshop in improv comedy suitable for everyone 16+. Previous students have included Pete Bennett from Big Brother, and this is your chance to unleash your inner comic genius! It really is a crash course as workshop attendees will get the chance to actually perform during the Improvathon Festivalino on Sunday (also at the Komedia Studio Bar). This Festivalino with feature a whole host of improv talent from Brighton and beyond, presenting a veritable smorgasbord of superlative improvised comedy. There?s no tickets, just donations on the door!

For the finale on Improvathon Sunday there's a very special performance of The Maydays? award-winning improv show Mayday! The Musical which sees the team putting their skills to the test by inviting local press to bring some suggestions for the show in sealed envelopes to prove that the performers really are making everything up on the spot. Kicking off at 7.30pm, tickets for this memorable evening are ?10/?7 conc.

Off The Cuff and The Maydays started up independently in 2003. Off The Cuff began at the University of Sussex, and as well as regularly performing in the city the troupe were behind last year's Freshmeat Festival. The Maydays have been performing around the country since Brighton Festival in 2004, winning 'Best Comedy Show' in the Latest Festival & Fringe Awards in 2007. Some people wonder how the two outfits rub along together in a relatively small space ?I suppose it could be a bit like West Side Story but with two rival improv gangs instead of the Sharks and the Jets? said Heather Urquhart of The Maydays ?but luckily we?ve worked out that just like in improv, things are best when you work together, and a pinch of friendly rivalry just keeps us all at our best?.

Don't miss the opportunity to celebrate the abundance of improv comedy in Brighton. Full listings for events and ticketing details will be available on www.themaydays.co.uk.

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