City sides showdown

Theatresports Grand Championships: River City Rivals (Improv Queensland)

Brisbane Powerhouse, Underground Theatre

May 18

The last time I made it along to a Brisbane Comedy Festival Theatresports event, was 2022, when the Powerhouse Theatre stage was set for a state vs state showdown of fast-paced, action-packed competition. This time the stakes are even higher than Queensland vs New South Wales, with River City Rivals teams (representing Brisbane’s south and north sides) battling for bragging rights in the ‘showdown of the century’ in Brisbane Powerhouse’s Underground Theatre.

With no script, the directions of the impromptu performances are often at the mercy at the boisterous audience’s ‘should have said’ (for example) shoutouts to reconsider character statements or en-masse sound effect contribution to, in this instance, a skydiving story. The more intimate venue works well from an audience perspective, making our suggestions of scenarios more manageable and, at times, the enthusiastic performers (Wade Robinson, Liz Talbot and Natalie Bochenski representing the northside and Luke Rimmelzwaan, Fiona Bergstrum, Carla Haynes for the southside), are spoiled for choice from the suggestions, such when a neutral scene is replayed in different audience-instigated historical periods including the Roman Empire, Wild West and Jurassic era (because who hasn’t wondered how a T-Rex might wash the dishes, let alone open doors). They are all incredibly talented in terms of their improvisation, imagination, characterisation and teamwork. Not only are they able to find the humour in anything at a moment’s notice, but insert cultural references and call backs while moving their respective scenarios forward plot-wise. Bergstrum, in particular, plays well in response to others to up-the-anti of the funny, even in song.

The brave players are all quick witted in response to audience suggestions, and also the contributions of their teammates. And effective teamwork is, of course, essential, especially in a final quick round of ‘Oracle’ which sees the three northside team members uniting to interact in unison, speaking as one (shallow) being in answer to audience questions and offer of mystic advice around how to get a girlfriend et al. Kudos also to Kris Anderson who improvs musical accompaniment according to the needs of each scene, particularly when ‘Sing About It’ audience interjections add to the contrasting considerations of a couple on their first date.

At less than 50 minutes, the run time is a little under what has been advertised, and things could easily have continued with a few more scenes, on way to grand champion victory by the streetwise Southsiders (as ‘judged’ by emcee ‘techs’ Amy Driscoll and Scott Driscoll’s assessment of the audience’s reaction). Still, there is lots of topical, locational laughter to be had in the short, sharp contest of this year’s North vs South Brisbane battle, or, if you will, the Bee Gees vs Savage Garden (if Redcliffe and Logan were actually a part of Brisbane).

.

Celebrating spontaneous storytelling

Theatresports Grand Championships (Impromafia)

Brisbane Powerhouse, Powerhouse Theatre

May 29

Theatre sports is a fast paced, action packed, competitive team-based theatre competition which combines wit, humour and performance skill. If you have seen improvisational comedy television shows like “Whose Line is It Anyway” you may think you know how it looks. If you have been lucky enough to experience the competition on stage, you know how much better it is to see performers making up scenes and games on the spot before your eyes (and at your suggestion) in a fun-filled night of spontaneous, never-to-be-repeated hilarity.

Featuring at the culmination of the Brisbane Comedy Festival, the one-show-only event that is Impromafia’s “Theatresports Grand Championships” sees the very best of Brisbane’s talent take on the cream of the interstate improv challenge crop in a celebration of quick wits. The show’s later Sunday timeslot means there are some loose suggestions from audience members united in their rambunctiousness, which only adds to the fun that is theatre sports – no script, only the spontaneous brilliance of its impromptu performers at the mercy at audience’s ‘should have said’ (for example) shoutouts to reconsider character statements.

The Queensland crew of humble hometown hosts (Carla Haynes, Luke Rimmelzwaan, Jaz Robertson and Wade Robinson) and Team Southerners (from Melbourne, Sydney, and New Zealand, Brendon Bennetts, Emma Brittenden, Bridie Connell, Jason Geary and David Massingham) are all incredibly talented, with clear talents for improvisation, imagination, characterisation and teamwork. Not only are they able to find the humour in anything at a moment’s notice, but they show the cleverness to remember scenes such as when an almost-minute-long scene is then replayed in 30 seconds and finally in a frantic seven second reduction. And then there are the call-backs that feature throughout the show, in this instance to Coolangatta and relationship retreats to France. Queensland also features as a recurring theme, not just in the home-grown humourists’ attire, but location and alike suggestions for skits, cresendoing in a quintessential Queensland drama, ‘The Miner’.

Each moment is unscripted, unfiltered, and unpredictable…. apart from when a scene unfolds around one character reading script lines for Samuel Beckett’s “Waiting for Godo”, done so well that we quickly forget that this is even the case. Audience members even get in on the act, in a way, such as in a film noire retell of a front row couple’s Cavill Ave nightclub meeting many decades ago. There is certain something for everyone when the teams take to the Powerhouse main stage. With an improvised opera testament to morning coffee and a skit enlivened by audience members demanding that characters ‘sing about it’ at pivotal times (in this instance giving us a very unique Australian Kurt Cobain, Clean up Australia tribute, ‘90s style), there is even some musical moments, realised by Kris Anderson who similarly improvs his accompaniment according to the needs of each scene. And without disrupting from momentum, explanation is given to the setup of games, for those unfamiliar with format, by hosts Siobhan Finniss and Ryan Goodwin. as well as the teams themselves, which only enhances audience enthusiasm to engage with their set-ups.

Boo-ing, however, is reserved only for the judges, Leica Baker, Roger Beams and Alexander Simpkins, for while fierce battle for improv supremacy on-stage occupies most of our attention, the night’s judges play their part too, including in banter with audience members disapproving of their allocations. This year, it is Team Southerners who come up on top in the battle for improv supremacy, not that it really matters, for it is audience members who are the real winners, leaving abuzz thanks to their experience of the best of the best from Brisbane and beyond and the very random eventualities of their spontaneous storytelling – from a gothic horror story, complete with Banjo soundtrack to step-sibling breakups with strange strings attached.