Monday Night Comedy at The Courtyard Playhouse A riotous night of improv comedy

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Words: Jo Elliott

I have to admit, I had completely the wrong impression when it came to Monday Night Comedy at the Courtyard Playhouse. I was expecting a workshop on improvisational comedy, where you might have to get up on stage and do comedy. For someone who hates public speaking with a passion, this was a horrifying thought.

Thankfully, though audience participation was integral to the show, I did not have to do any onstage participation myself!  I’ve never been to an improvised comedy show before, but I think this actually worked in my favour. The show was a constant surprise, because I had no expectations.

The first half of the show took the form of a series of short-form “games”. There was a lot going on during this part of the show. It could be difficult to follow at times, as they moved from one game to another at a pretty rapid pace. That definitely kept things interesting though. It meant you constantly had to be aware of what was going on but this was a good thing. The two hour time frame of the show definitely felt shorter.

Everything in the show was really interactive. The audience is essentially another part of the show. All the games relied on audience suggestions, and even some onstage participation for certain members of the audience. This made us active participants in the show, which really added to the experience.

The scene replay game was the highlight of the first act for me. How the game worked was a group of the performers acted out a scene, whilst the other performers were out of the room. This meant that we as an audience knew what was going on, but they had no idea. When they came back in, the first group performed the scene again. The scene was all in gibberish this time, and the second group had to work out what it was.

It was completely hysterical. What started out as a scene of a wealthy couple honeymooning in Australia, turned into a couple being embroiled in a cult!

I also really enjoyed another game, which I’ll admit that I cannot remember the name of. In this game, four of the performers were given different jobs in the same small town and they had to act out a scenario.

From a storytelling perspective, I found it really clever how they blended together the stories of all these different people in the same town, especially given that they were all coming up with these ideas on the spot.

The interval gave me a chance to appreciate the beauty of the Courtyard Playhouse. The décor is kind of reminiscent of an early 20th-century theatre. There were a lot of gilded frames and chandeliers, even an old-style snack bar! The red walls and carpets also made the place feel really warm and inviting. The studio itself was cosy. However this worked really well for the event as it made it feel more intimate. It also  allowed us as the audience to connect with the performers more.

Inside the Courtyard Playhouse

The second half was a bit different. It largely focused on a longer form comedy skit set in a graveyard. I think I actually preferred the chopping and changing from the first half more. Moving from one skit to another kept things fresh and interesting.

My favourite game from the second act was called “Through The Ages” where the performers acted out different scenarios based on periods of History suggested by the audience. I admit though, I was not massively happy when I got dropped in it by my journalism supervisor (I studied History) to make a suggestion. I think my face probably turned as red as the walls of the studios when one of the performers called on me. Watching the performers go from Tudor England to China to the Boer War was almost hilarious enough for me to forget my embarrassment at being involved in audience participation. Almost.

The whole night was a really pleasant surprise. I love comedy, but I was kind of apprehensive due to my misconceptions of what the night would actually be like. It ended up being a really brilliant night out. It was a lovely atmosphere, everyone was really engaged and entertained and I laughed through pretty much the entire show. That’s really everything you want for from stand up comedy.

If you love comedy but are wanting to try something a little different, I would definitely recommend the Courtyard Playhouse’s Improv Nights.

The Courtyard Playhouse’s next show, Amateur Hour, is playing every Wednesday-Saturday till the 28th March. 

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