The London 50 Hour Improvathon | Pleasance Theatre

The London 50 Hour Improvathon has proven itself to be a stagey highlight for any theatre or Improv fan as it celebrates its 16th year running. Each year, the improvathon takes on a specific theme that the 50 hours of improvisation is built upon. This year, the improvathon had chosen to pay tribute to Netflix's Stranger Things, setting itself in the 1980s in a small American town called Pleasanceville (a lovely nod to the wonderful hosting venue) with a strong emphasis on the wildly popular role playing game Dungeons and Dragons. The London 50 Hour Improvathon proved its might with a show that may not have had the same budget of a Netflix show, but was just as bingeable and brilliant. 

The London 50 Hour Improvathon is a wild and impossible idea that has not only successfully made it to fruition, but has become something of a cult classic amongst performers and fans of improv alike, drawing in some of the biggest names such as Mischief, Austentatious and Showstoppers. The show plays on for 50 hours straight, starting at 7pm on the Friday night and ending at 9pm on the Sunday night. The 50 hours are broken in 25 episodes of 100 minutes each, with 20 minute breaks between the next. Audiences are able to buy tickets to watch individual episodes or a weekend pass that allows them to settle in and experience live binging. The cast are made up of a revolving door of performers, with actors joining for a little as two episodes. The cast also include a core team of players that perform the entire 50 hours, becoming the show's primary characters. 

The cast are accompanied by a live band who underscore the show and provides music for the improvised songs, a tech team that handles lighting and fun sound effects, and a director. The director introduces the characters every episode with a quick line that recaps the storyline or where the character is emotionally, allowing for new audience members to quickly catch up. Individual scenes are built by these directors who call upon certain characters with a general plot point, instruction, or creative challenge (such as speaking for another character, different accents, or mirroring another cast member) that the cast then improvise. Each scene, directed by director Ali James, made good use of the stage and the minimal props. A counter that doubles as a bed, chairs, a pac-man machine, colourful fabrics, and a number of fake mini Christmas trees, help to distinguish various locations in the small town.

For the sake of this review, the first episode shall be discussed. The first episode is always one of the most exciting episodes in the improvathon, as the characters are introduced, the scene is set, and the madness begins, and with a sold out audience, the room was nothing short of electric. Directed by James, the long list of cast members are introduced with their character names one by one, giving audiences a chance to meet them formally. Admittedly, with a cast of nearly twenty, there is little chance audiences will remember characters, but it does help with future episode recaps and introduces cast and characters well. Audience members can later find out which cast members were performing with a handy sheet displayed in the venue foyer following each show. 

The first episode was used to largely set up the vast characters, their intentions and relationships, but this is exciting to see the world being built up from the ground. As the dynamics are being developed, audiences are given a treat as the cast members quickly decipher one another's characters and unexpected relationships begin to strike up, everyone involved, watching and performing, just as fascinated by the drama that is unfolding. The performers, whether they are Improv veterans or excited newcomers, are careful to lace each of their relationships and motives with wildly dramatic or intriguing tension that later will unfold into something much more layered as the episodes progress. 

The first episode not only sets up the world that audiences will be transported into for the following 48 hours, but also establishes long running comedy gags that have the audiences howling as time progresses. Despite the serious overarching theme and genre of the Improvathon, the actors chose comedy and mayhem at every available moment, with such hilarious moments of explicit nature that makes one question and almost worry what the 3am delirious episodes will contain. The episode also features an impressive number of improvised musical numbers, reminding audiences of just how talented the cast are.

The London 50 Hour Improvathon is seriously (and unseriously) the best bingeable series that theatre fan could ask for. With a stellar cast and creative team welding its way, and creativity unlike any other, this is the show that you won't want to miss.

★★★★★ (5*)

Gifted tickets in return for an honest review | Photography by Claire Bilyard