Review: Impromptunes: The Completely Improvised Musical Comedy at The Pleasure Garden

Impromptunes: The Completely Improvised Musical Comedy at The Parlour at The Pleasure Garden
Saturday, January 27, 2024

With over 10 years of experience, Impromptunes are octaves above and beyond your typical improv group. These are high-quality performers, with rhymes, moves and teamwork well honed over years of practice.

As every show is different, there is no synopsis to share! The title is drawn from audience suggestions, with Saturday’s performance telling the sad story of a meat-based family feud, a kind gold digger mother, and enough mother-son drama for Freud to write a book about. The incredibly talented cast included Josh Burton, Isabella Valette, Morgar Philips, Amelia June, and Company Director Emmet Nichols, plus a pianist and drummer who were also improvising along.

Those with a theatre background will enjoy spotting the subtle skills used to weave the story, watching the team lean into each other’s ideas, laughing as they attempt to remember the characters’ names, and appreciating the performers waiting in the darkness, adding harmonies and backing melodies to the songs.

However, the songs did feel quite repetitious, and it would add tremendously to mix up the musical genres rather than rely on ballads every time (plus one jazzy number—an amusing solo by Valette about her deceased husband, ‘Rex’). As is always the risk with improv, it can get a bit silly, and the ‘sausage’ gags and innuendo became a bit tiresome.

The show is also squashed into a very small tent at The Pleasure Garden, limiting the dance options. Hopefully, in future years, they will be given the room to do a high kick without risking the safety of the front-row patrons.

While there is undoubtedly excellent talent onstage, Impromptunes would benefit by pushing the creative boundaries a little by broadening the musical genres and keeping the focus on the story rather than the ‘silly’.

MELISSA MANN