Advertised as magical and glorious, An Improbable Musical begins curiously and promisingly, but soon its low brow jokes and episodic, shattered structure make for a more and more disappointing watch. This is despite an indisputably likeable and talented cast whose improvisation skills deserve a round of applause.
Improbable, maestros of improvised theatre, are joined by Clarke Joseph-Edwards and Aya Nakamura, who bring the puppetry elements to the show. An Improbable Musical seeks to explore the boundaries of improvisation by incorporating material animation, songs, and live music, performed by an attentive live band who accompanies them on the stage of Hackney Empire.
The show begins with a metatheatrical discussion with the audience, who then provide Josie Lawrence, Ruth Bratt, and Niall Ashdown with suggestions on how to build this evening’s plotline. Slightly blurring the lines between the auditorium and the stage, in an admittedly very non-invasive way, An Improbable Musical is visibly engaging and leaves the Hackney Empire brimming over with a laughing audience.
Sadly, the quality of jokes and puns is questionable and repetitive to say the least, but if one appreciates very British humour and continuous references to tea, they should probably enjoy the onstage chaos.
Although it needs to be remembered that An Improbable Musical is fully improvised, so every show is different, nevertheless, it seems to have missed the mark on this occasion.
Lamentably, tonight’s performance failed to showcase the cast’s full potential. The actors, in truth, sing unselfconsciously and certainly have a great time, which is endearing but they probably have more aces up their sleeves than the slightly pathetic gags on offer tonight.
Similarly, not enough attention is given to the puppetry, which could have improved the pace of the show, and elevated their art to more than a novelty addition.
The brilliant stage design by E Mallin Parry enhances the show’s dynamism and helps the cast to brace against an uninteresting storyline but this, regrettably, is not enough to resist the impression that An Improbable Musical, potentially dazzling and full of surprises, has actually come to the verge of unsuccessful high school show.
