Olivier-award-winning improv group, Showstopper! The Improvised Musical, are back at London’s Cambridge Theatre performing their long-form improv. As their name suggests, they improvise a West End musical, based on suggestions from the audience. The company has a large amount of talented performers to draw on, but each show typically consists of around six actors, with another company member taking the role of director, whose job it is to gather suggestions from the audience and introduce them at various points to either move the action forward or make the actors look as ridiculous as possible.
Co-creator of ‘Showstopper!’, Dylan Emery, was the director for last night’s show, opening the action with a call from a producer in need of a new musical. Not to worry, he has a writer’s room (the audience) working on one already. He asked the audience to suggest a setting, a title and a few of their favourite musicals to kick things off, which is how we ended up with the darkly-titled ‘The Last Stop’, set in Golden Leaf old people’s home, with added jungle. We met Meryl the Peril (Ruth Bratt), who used to be an explorer, and Glynnis (Lucy Trodd), the former star of stage and screen who performs one-woman plays in the home to try to get former stand-up comedian, Alan (Justin Brett), to notice her. However, the bulk of the action centred on Clara (Ali James), a young woman working at Golden Leaf and enjoying her life until an appearance from her ex-boyfriend, Dennis (Andrew Pugsley), threatens to upset everything. Falling once again for Dennis’ charms, revealed in a Rocky Horror-style song with Magic Mike-style dancing, Clara starts to forget her commitment to her job. Convinced Dennis is no good, the residents try to split them up before it’s too late.
Just before the interval, the director asked the audience to suggest things for act two on the show’s Instagram page, so the second half opened by revealing Dennis’ gambling debts to a gang of senior citizens from Chicago. To pay them back, Dennis is ordered to steal precious items from Golden Leaf, precipitating a Sondheim-style duet between Dennis and various items of furniture, spectacularly enacted by co-creator of Showstopper!, Adam Meggido. As with most musicals, though, there is a happy ending, and Clara learns how much she cares about her job and the family she’s made for herself with all the residents of Golden Leaf, just in time for her to be given the keys to the place as its new owner.
‘The Last Stop’ was a funny, twisty, and mostly coherent tale, with ups and downs that kept the audience laughing for two hours. All the actors were equally good at both singing and improvising. Nobody stood out, because they were so good at working as a team that everyone was given their moment in the spotlight, and everyone contributed to letting someone else shine. The incredible talent of all the performers, and the musicians that support them, lies not just in constructing a full musical from a handful of suggestions, but in being able to make something new every single time. ‘The Last Stop’ will never be seen again. You could go a hundred times (and last night somebody hit that mark) and never see the same thing twice. If you love musicals, you have to see this show, and if you don’t love musicals, then you still have to see this show.
Showstopper! The Improvised Musical has performances scheduled in London and around the UK until July 2027. Tickets are available here: https://showstopperthemusical.com/upcoming-shows/
Reviewer: Charlotte Mansfield
Reviewed: 12th October 2026
North West End UK Rating: