REVIEW: Your Line Or Mine?
- Posted on February 28, 2008 5:08 PM
- 1 comment
Your Line or Mine? Comedy Improv Evening
Landor Theatre, Clapham
Review by Angela Lord
Something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue – the usual ingredients of comedy improv - can be a bit hit and miss.
Luckily there were more hits than misses in Abandon Theatre’s comedy showcase “Your Line or Mine?” at the Landor pub theatre in Clapham.
A wet Sunday evening in February, with engineering works on the tube, isn’t the most popular choice for a night out, and the audience was a bit thin on the ground. (I wonder if on a particularly slow night, the players have ever worried that the call to Abandon Theatre might be mistaken for a command, as in abandon ship.)
But those who made the effort to see the show came determined to enjoy themselves, clap, cheer, and of course, laugh. Just as well, since the format relied partly on a responsive audience willing to shout out their ideas for scenes and characters.
On arrival, everyone was asked to fill out two slips of paper, one with a profession and the other with an insult, leading to an ice skater, a rocket scientist and a face like a baboon’s backside
thrown into the mix.
The six performers bounded onto the stage, each wearing a T shirt in the colours of their nominated European country, flagging up the evening’s theme - the Six Nations.
The idea behind the theme, other than adding a topical feel, seemed to be to introduce a spirit of competition, rather than to serve up a satirical view of sporting events. (Not that I’m complaining, as I’m hardly the world’s greatest sports fan.) The closest it ever came to a sporting commentary was during the European Ironing Championships, when the Italian contestant’s over-reaction to sustaining a minor burn injury from the iron provided a laugh-out-loud moment.
Most sketches consisted of timeless, classic comedy material, sometimes with a new twist.
“Guess the profession of people at the party” was one old faithful making a welcome return and bringing back memories of TV’s “Whose Line is it Anyway?”
A scene from Thunderbirds set in a gay sauna prompted the incendiary news: “I’ve just had a call from Brains and he says there’s a fire in your underpants” – a line you’d be unlikely to hear anywhere else. A bell was introduced at one point to rule on hesitation, deviation or, in one case, being a bit too boring.
The bell was rung when a sketch reached its natural end, which kept things moving along at a cracking pace. But I felt there were one or two instances where the desire to maintain momentum cut short the flow of inspiration.
The show’s flyer flaunts a quote describing the group as “the new kings and queens of improv”. I’m not so sure about that: princes and princesses maybe. I reckon this lot have a little way to go before they truly rule the comedy circuit, but they show plenty of promise.
So, if you’re after an amusing hour’s entertainment from a group of talented, enthusiastic and likeable performers, this is where it’s at.
Improvised comedy from Abandon Theatre at the Landor
Landon Road, Clapham North
On the last Sunday of the month at 8pm.
Comments (1)
Jake Comb
I saw the show. I thought they were brilliant. I think they are "kings and queens of improv" and I have seen many! Good work!
Posted on March 25, 2008 10:05 AM
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