Hosted by the Scottish Storytelling centre, the Edinburgh International Improv Festival hit us with three full nights of improv by actors from all across the globe. In this double bill we saw The Imposters from Shetland tell a tale fit for a soap opera, followed by Funfdollar all the way from Berlin who left us in stitches with their dry, quick-witted humour.
Kicking things off with The Imposters, this group took the word ‘dragon’ from the audience. How this improvisation transpired from the word dragon I am unsure as the only reference to the source word was a clever remark from one of the players, with him saying “this is dragging on.” Get it? To begin with it did seem that the team was struggling a little for inspiration but once they found the basis of their improv they took it and ran. To kick the story off we saw a rift between a couple. The girlfriend was trying to kick the boyfriend’s cosplay habit – he dressed as the niche superhero ‘garbageman’ at a recent comic con. Somehow we ended with the girlfriend cheating on her boyfriend with the boyfriend’s father! Finally ending in the father and girlfriend having a child who inspired a new superhero movie of his own. This performance really showcased the unexpected nature of improv with the twists and turns of this story surprising everyone in the room including the actors. I was fully invested in the story – even audibly gasping at points. Tapping each other in and out of the performance, establishing new scenes and settings, this was a fun and dynamic display of classic improv.
Next up was Funfdollar who were a clearly well-established team, taking the stage by storm with complete professionalism and know-how. They began with the audience’s suggestion of ‘spice’ and each began to share an anecdote from their own lives which related to spice. The group then began to improvise scenes based upon those anecdotes – a system which I thought worked incredibly well – no need for awkward pauses or staticness when you already have a well formed idea to go off of. Funfdollar were incredibly engaging with their short, sharp scenes of utterly surreal subject matter – from a lax security guard letting a thief clear out the whole security office, to the story of a murderous roommate who had a stockpile of ex-roommates buried in his wall who because they each ruined his cast iron pan. Truly an absolute powerhouse of a group – incredibly inventive and quick – it was clear they were absolute masters of their craft. One of the funniest performances I have seen – truly commendable and a great start to my EIIF experience.
Reviewer: Jessie Martin
Reviewed: 23rd March 2025
North West End UK Rating:
Rating: 5 out of 5.
