Category Archives: *Written Interviews

From time to time we encounter an artist or producer toiling away at something pretty special. Here’s what they have to say, in their own words, about their work.

+3 Interview: The Club

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

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“A torrent of bad language and comedic hedonism.”

WHO: Mark Farrelly – Actor, playing Nick Reynolds

WHAT: “Olly Watson is a poet, who is lonely! But now he has a match, a real woman with pictures and everything! What next? Coffee, flowers, chocolate? Don’t be boring, send her poems about spoons! How’d that go then?”

WHERE: Gilded Balloon Teviot (Venue 14)

WHEN: 17:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my sixth…my first was back in 2001 when I was a fresh-faced university graduate doing a version of A Tale of two Cities. I do the Fringe every few years, whenever an interesting and decently-paid project comes up that I’m free for.

Tell us about your show.

The Club, which I describe to friends and punters as a torrent of bad language and comedic hedonism, is written by Ruaraidh Murray. He is a talented writer / performer who I met at the Gilded Balloon two years ago. He asked me to be in it because we are friends, and he also perhaps knows my familiarity with Withnailian people.

We play two men (based on people Ruaraidh knew in the late 90s) who have no boundaries, limits or sanity in their pursuit of hedonism. Enormous fun to play. A barnstorming comedy with an unexpectedly dark and poignant edge. I also get to sink an entire bottle of wine in the first ten minutes, when not swearing my head off.

It’s produced by Something For The Weekend’s Suzanna Rosenthal, kicked off with previews at the Park Theatre in London and will likely be coming to London again in the next six months. We were hugely blessed to be directed by ace theatre maestro Joe Harmston.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

So much great stuff this year! By all things Godly see Phil Nichol. Lucie Pohl’s Apohlcalypse Now! Anything starring David Benson (he’s playing Boris Johnson and Kenneth Williams here). Anything featuring Sarah-Louise Young. The Snow Queen at Gilded Balloon’s new Museum space. Henry Naylor’s play Angel. The list stretches on… a real selection box of quality in 2016.

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+3 Interview: Banging Fun Stuff

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

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“I love wandering around and taking a punt on something I wouldn’t normally see. That’s the joy of Edinburgh!”

WHO: Amanda Kelleher – Performer, Writer, Producer

WHAT: “The Cutlery Crew wants everyone to have fun, feel uplifted and bang stuff joyfully. But a crime has been committed and all hope rests upon PC Pauline, a worrisome policewoman searching for suspects. Don’t let her gangliness fool you. There is a cunning mind buried deep… deep down inside her, perhaps. She’s a crime solving, spoon playing, twirling, clapping, bending, banging maniac. She was shortlisted for the Policewoman of the Year 1999. She has 55 minutes to put things right. Her fate is in your hands… Free spoon for audience members. Features live music.”

WHERE: Just the Tonic at The Caves (Venue 88)

WHEN: 16:45 (55 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

No, we came two years ago with a blues comedy. We learnt a lot and went away with the plan to make a show that we could enjoy after doing it over 50 times!

Tell us about your show.

Amanda ran up a welsh mountain and did some training with Phil Burgers (Dr. Brown). She came down a bit different so herself and Josh started working on Banging Fun Stuff. Amanda wrote and produced it and Josh composed all the music. Josh met Amanda 2 years ago.

He might have Stockholm syndrome now as her stupidity starts to makes sense to him. Banging Fun Stuff toured to Barnstaple Fringe where it was reviewed as: “Fringe theatre at its best…original, quirky, bonkers.” It also won the Pick of the Fringe award at Bedford Fringe this year.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

After some time spooning, go see Luke Stephen Commit No Nuisance at Venue 383, a very funny stand up! Also Louise Reay whose new show is awesome at the caves called Que Sera. I also love wandering around and taking a punt on something I wouldn’t normally see. That’s the joy of Edinburgh!

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+3 Interview: Olly’s Got a Match!

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

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“Sheer luck and ignorance are producing it.”

WHO: Olly Watson-Performer

WHAT: “Olly Watson is a poet, who is lonely! But now he has a match, a real woman with pictures and everything! What next? Coffee, flowers, chocolate? Don’t be boring, send her poems about spoons! How’d that go then?”

WHERE: Silk (venue 444) Upper

WHEN: 12:35 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

First time with my own show, I did ride up last year from Great Yarmouth on a 125 motorbike, complete with learner plates, tent sleeping bag, cooker and a weeks worth of clothes just to have a look. Saw The Water Show by Rob Auton and knew then and there that I had to try and do it myself!

Tell us about your show.

I wrote the show, and to sum it up badly, I end up sending a match I get on Tinder a poem about spoons to try and impress her, hilarity and poetry ensues! I also have a go at Shakespeare and Ukip along the way.

Sheer luck and ignorance are producing it, my two kids were the only people at the premier in our front room and they asked me to move as I was in the way of Cbeebies, so all in all one of my better reviews.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

Rob Auton: The Sleep Show
Andy Benett: Roar
Jayde Adams: 31

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+3 Interview: All Quiet On The Western Front

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

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“We felt it was important to make a show that told the story of the young men that lost their lives during The Great War.”

WHO: Angus Castle-Doughty

WHAT: “In the centenary year of the Battle of the Somme, Incognito theatre revives Erich Maria Remarque’s classic tale that exposes the mental and physical strain of trench warfare, All Quiet on the Western Front. Adapting the story in their trademark physical style, Incognito harnesses the tragic energy of Remarque’s novel and creates a stunningly poetic, poignant and expressionistic theatrical experience in order to tell the breaking story of the German soldiers who fought on the Western Front during the Great War.”

WHERE: Pleasance Courtyard (Venue 33)

WHEN: 13:45 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is our third time at the festival as a company. Previously however we’ve performed at the past 6 festivals. Our previous two shows (adaptations of Government Inspector and Dorian Gray) had sell out runs and so we have returned to try and challenge ourselves further!

Tell us about your show.

Being the centenary of the battle of the Somme we felt it was important to make a show that told the story of the young men that lost their lives during The Great War, using Remarque’s Classic and harrowing tale as the base of our adaptation. We have always received massive amounts of support from the Pleasance having been borne out of the Young Pleasance and this year they have given us the opportunity to perform in a larger space on three sides, allowing us to expand our unique physical style to interrogate what it meant to be a young man in WWI.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

Lemons X5
We Are Ian
Nina Conti
Alice Unhinged (Young Pleasance)

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+3 Interview: We Are Ian

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

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“We make a massive song and dance of the mundane – a messy, multimedia mish-mash of clowning, dance routines and bad lip-syncing.”

WHO: Torran McEwan – Producer

WHAT: “1989. Manchester. A frenzy of drugs, beats and bucket hats. Illegal raves. Acid parties. Just jumping up and down in a field and throwing two fingers to Thatcher… Remember it? Because we don’t. We weren’t even born. But Ian was. And Ian does remember. We’ve got fuck all now (Ian tells us). So, we’re going back to 1989. We’re gonna neck a brown biscuit. We’re gonna get off our peanuts. We’re gonna bounce around like idiots. And Ian’s going to show us how. We’re mad fer it. And you will be too. Let’s party.”

WHERE: Pleasance Dome (Venue 23)

WHEN: 23:00 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

We’re a new company, and this is the first show we’ve ever presented at the Fringe Festival. But we’ve all worked at the Fringe before, from basically running a press office to being a venue supervisor, so we’ve got a few stories we could tell! But we’re thrilled to have this opportunity to show We Are Ian to the denizens of Edinburgh and all it’s visitors.

Tell us about your show.

We Are Ian is devised from our mate Ian’s stories about being part of the illegal rave scene in 1989. It came about because Ian asked us to make a piece about him. He wanted an epic twelve part drama with an eleven year old boy playing him. We vetoed that plan. After sitting down with Ian and having a series of conversations over a couple of pints, the show emerged. It was then developed with support from the Bike Shed Theatre graduate residency scheme and Pleasance Theatre.

Our company is called In Bed With My Brother. We are three performance makers and three best friends who met at the University of Exeter. We use real-life stories. Either our own, or our mates’. There are no witty one-liners, and we’ve thrown away the kitchen sink. We make a massive song and dance of the mundane – a messy, multimedia mish-mash of clowning, dance routines and bad lip-syncing. We don’t use scripts. We’re not always sure exactly what it is we do… We’re just glad the threesome wasn’t just a one night stand.

We premiered We Are Ian at the Plymouth Fringe Festival, Pleasance Islington, Latitude Festival, and the Bike Shed Theatre, Exeter, before finally making our way up north.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

We would totally recommend catching Nel by our fellow devon-based company Scratchworks. It blew our minds. It’s about Nel, a brilliant, but friendless, foley artist. Through an amazing mix of live music, onstage foley, and physical comedy, Scratchworks create a touching story about being an introvert. It’s on at the 10 Dome, Pleasance dome at 3pm between the 3rd and the 29th of August. Don’t miss it!

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+3 Interview: Chopping Chillies

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

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“People make all kinds of promises to see each other’s productions, and I never thought Guy Masterson would actually turn up. But he did.”

WHO: Clair Whitefield – Writer and Performer

WHAT: “From Kerala to Camden, an epic, mystical tale of love, loss and soul-food. A cobbler and a cook concoct a delicious transcontinental enchantment as tragedy and chance entwine. As Katie dreams of curries and chapattis; Ajna, of holy souls and reincarnation… A delightful, poetic, magical story that conjoins the spirit of India with the heart of London. Directed by Olivier award winner (for Morecambe) Guy Masterson.”

WHERE: Assembly Roxy (Venue 139)

WHEN: 14:50 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

The first time I came to the fringe, I was 13. My dad’s Scottish and I went to uni in Edinburgh. So in many ways, it’s like a second home. The first time I performed here though, was last year, as part of the Free Fringe. I also worked as a reviewer for Three Weeks the summer I graduated. I saw 65 shows in a month. It was incredible.

Tell us about your show.

I live in London and came up with the idea for Chopping Chillies, when I was working in Camden. I used to take my shoes to a shop on the high street to be repaired. Opposite this cobbler’s was a traditional Chinese herbalist that specialised in reflexology. And that’s when an idea for a story hit me.

What would happen if these two joined forces?

What kind of magical healing shoes could it lead to? And so I began writing Chopping Chillies which is a mix of poetry and storytelling. I met Guy Masterson when I was performing Chillies on the Free Fringe last year. I went to see him in Under Milk Wood and afterwards gave him a flyer for my show. People make all kinds of promises to see each other’s productions, and I never thought Guy would actually turn up. But he did.

We got talking and late last year we began writing the screenplay of Chopping Chillies. So who knows what the future holds. We also thought it would be great to bring Chillies back to Edinburgh and so here we are. It’s been wonderful working with him and I can’t wait to unleash this new version.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

Definitely go see Guy in Shylock and his new autobiographical show, Love and Canine Integration. It’s a hilarious bit of stand-up about the trials and tribulations of going to war with a dog that despises you. Barbie and Ken also make some risque cameos.

I also want to big up some poets: go see Rob Auton, Dan Simpson and Harry Baker. You should also check out Stand Up & Slam where comedians and poets go head-to-head in a series of rounds. It’s like Eight Mile but in a Waitrose. The most fun I had last year was with Guru Dudu on his a wacky walking tour meets silent disco; dancing to the Bee Gees down the Royal Mile and singing Bohemian Rhapsody on a roundabout.

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+3 Interview: Hyena

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

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“Making space for cis-women, trans-women and feminine-identified people takes active effort. Even in theatre, the majority of voices heard are those of cis-men.”

WHO: Romana Soutus – Writer, Performer & Producer

WHAT: “Hyena is an interactive and visceral solo show about the beast within. Hy examines questions of intimacy, femininity and vulnerability as she attempts to navigate the painful world in which we live, while toeing the line between her public and private self. Straight from its world premiere at La MaMa NYC in 2016.”

WHERE: Paradise in The Vault (Venue 29)

WHEN: 21:40 (65 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Yes! We’ve never been before.

Tell us about your show.

In a workshop with Belarus Free Theatre, writer/performer Romana Soutus was challenged to write one page that could never be performed on a stage in her home country. That challenge manifested itself into a one-woman piece that explores the dichotomy of body and image, the desire to destroy while being perceived as living in a body designed to create.

Hyena is produced by Romana Soutus and Amy Surratt, both self-identified women. In fact, the entire production team on the ground in Edinburgh is made up of self-identified women.

Hyena is about the experience of femininity, and in that spirit it felt essential to have a production team made up entirely of self-identified women. Making space for cis-women, trans-women and feminine-identified people takes active effort. Even in theatre, the majority of voices heard are those of cis-men. Hyena and the team behind it consciously fight to create space for a story often left unaccounted for by actively pursuing voices often left unaccounted. The team is working to unlock cages, both literal and figurative.

Hyena premiered at La MaMa in New York City in March 2016, but for the Edinburgh Fringe Festival production of Hyena, the whole team decided to use three adjectives as their compass – lean, mean and dangerous. Romana went into re-writes and the design team tweaked their visions in order to incorporate a more “raw” feeling overall. In rehearsals the show is becoming tighter and tighter with every run and that feeling of danger has returned to the performance.

Although Hyena has already made its debut, the production taking place at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival will be unique to the festival.  Hyena will be performing again at the United Solo festival in New York City on September 27th and we hope to make more connections at the festival to take the show even further!

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

For a fellow one-woman show go see my La MaMa NYC sister Heather Litteer’s show Lemonade. For another queer in-your-face explosion go see Dandy Darkly’s Myth Mouth.

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+3 Interview: Celia

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

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“I’ve robbed the housekeeping to fund ‘Celia’ at Edinburgh… We will not be eating until after Christmas.”

WHO: Rachel Cochrane – Writer, Director, Producer

WHAT: “Meet Celia, housewife, 49ish and devoted mother. Tired of putting the toilet seat down after the men in her life, Celia escapes into a parallel world, the inspiration for her romantic short stories. But what happens when fantasy becomes reality and Celia finds herself caught between a hot flush and a hot date? Join Celia and her monologues on midlife musings as she plunges into the murky waters of the menopause. Written by Rachel Cochrane. Performed by Penny Lamport.”

WHERE: Spotlites (Venue 278)

WHEN: 18:25 (65 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

Yes, it’s been a long time ambition but the stars have never been aligned until now. What that actually means is that I’ve robbed the housekeeping to fund Celia at Edinburgh and it hasn’t been noticed yet. We will not be eating until after Christmas.

Tell us about your show.

Celia came about when I wrote the diary of a fictional woman as I was going through the menopause (am I allowed to mention that word in polite company?) It reflected how I was feeling but because I was writing through my character I was able to express what women think but dare not say.

Originally, Celia was made as a series of short online films with actor Penny Lamport and digital media artist Shirley Anne Wood. I have now rewritten Celia for the stage and after rave reviews at its premiere at The Globe (public house in Railway Street, NE1), Penny and I have taken a giant leap of faith to bring it to Edinburgh. You can expect a one woman monologue with laughter and tears in equal measure. I’ve also taken on the role of producer, director, props, publicity and sweeping up, but of course Penny’s input has been crucial in the development of the play and the character and capturing the audience with Celia’s story.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

I have just connected with Magician Renz Novani on Twitter and his show Renz Novani: Spellbinder – Magic & Mystory looks absolutely thrilling. He is performing at Spotlites 278, the same venue as Celia about an hour after we have finished. I’ve just watched a video on his Spotlites page – how on earth does he do that?

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+3 Interview: Guy Masterson: Love and Canine Integration

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

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“The story is autobiographical and it does what it says on the tin. I have been telling these anecdotes in the pub for years.”

WHO: Guy Masterson, Comedian

WHAT: “On a hovercraft, no one can hear you bark… Fringe legend and Olivier Award winner Guy Masterson’s uproarious tales of woe, a dog and transcontinental wedlock. The dog came with a package… it could not be abandoned in Paris, and the next eight years tested everything: marriage, career and sanity. A tormented, often hysterical life of poo, piss and pooches.”

WHERE: Assembly Roxy (Venue 139) 

WHEN: 17:40 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

This is my 23rd consecutive fringe and I have presented over 100 shows over that time – plus I have performed at least once during each of those Fringes. Most of those shows have been at Assembly Rooms/Assembly Festival with 5 at the Traverse and 3 at the Pleasance.

I have been lucky enough to be associated with some of the biggest hits at the fringe over that time with lots of awards and nominations. I am proud to have introduced the likes of John Clancy and David Calvitto to Edinburgh and mounting big theatre pieces such as 12 Angry Men and The Odd Couple – both starring Bill Bailey.

I have also focused on developing solo talent and several terrific shows that have come through my company have been running for over 20 years including Under Milk Wood, Animal Farm, Shylock and Adolf (with Pip Utton). Dyad Productions (Rebecca Vaughan and Elton Townend-Jones) started up with two productions that I presented & directed (Austen’s Women and I, Elizabeth). Scamp Theatre (Jenny Sutherland and Louise Callow) also started out with me. One of my proudest achievements was to bring a 13 year dream to the stage with Morecambe and then see it transfer to the West End and triumph at the Olivier Awards.

That illustrates what Edinburgh can do. It’s been a long journey!

Tell us about your show.

This is my first foray into the “comedy section” of the Fringe Bible. I wrote the piece and am producing. It is a world premiere in Edinburgh and – if it gets a good response – it will tour and maybe open up a few avenues that are not available to theatre people.

The story is autobiographical and it does what it says on the tin. I have been telling these anecdotes in the pub for years. Now I have put them together into an hour with an arc! Hopefully the audience will get a kick out of it – especially those who live with dogs!

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

Well, I would obviously urge them to see my other two shows Shylock and Chopping Chillies – with the delightful Clair Whitefield, which I first saw on the Free Fringe last year and have expanded and developed with her for a return to Assembly Festival…

but I would certainly recommend all Gavin Robertson’s work – because I do think he’s a genius, Bex Vaughan’s Jane Eyre and the eponymous Pip Utton (in anything) – and – on the comedy side – always the incredible Phil Nichol. There are too many others deserving of a recommendation it’s hard to know where to start but good luck to all of them.

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+3 Interview: The Gin Chronicles: A Scottish Adventure

Posted in *Written Interviews, EdFestivals 2016 by

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“Edinburgh can be the best of places and the worst of places, and getting the right venue for YOUR show is crucial. “

WHO: Robert Blackwood & Nick Cowell – Producers, Writers, Co-Directors, Performers

WHAT: “It’s England 1947. John Jobling and Doris Golightly (1940s amateur detectives) are called to investigate the threat of a London gin shortage, but as the case opens up all roads seem to lead north… to the bracing boulevards of Edinburgh. A train journey beckons, toast and marmalade is replaced by porridge and haggis (though not together), and the looming menace of a juniper crisis.”

WHERE: artSpace@StMarks (Venue 125)

WHEN: 18:30 (60 min)

MORE: Click Here!

Is this your first time to Edinburgh?

We came up last year for the first time as a company. We were put in touch with this venue, Artspace@StMarks, by a really good friend of ITR, a fabulous Scottish actor called Steve Hay. He said something along the lines of “Guys, you should really get in touch with Michael Mulligan and see if you can work something out, as your show would really tie in with what he’s looking for.”

Edinburgh can be the best of places and the worst of places, and getting the right venue for YOUR show is crucial. Ross Smith, who looks after the venue, was absolutely lovely to us, and the vibe he and Michael set really made an impact on our decision to return this year. We just didn’t want to go anywhere else.

Tell us about your show.

The show is a Vintage, Radio-style comedy show set in 1947. It’s about two amateur detectives and how their salubrious love of gin leads them on on an adventure up to Scotland. When we’re in a confident mood, we say it’s like Noel Coward meets P.G.Wodehouse meets The Goon Show meets Blackadder.

We’ve done some previews in and around London, and are really excited to have a longer run up in Edinburgh this year. We’ve also got 2 wonderful sponsors, which means that every adult who buys a ticket to the show gets a complimentary Gin & Tonic (Darnley’s View Gin & Fentimans Herbal Tonic Water) which was the constant questions last year: “Do you get Gin if you come and see the show?” Well, this year, you do!

Rob writes the scripts and then Nick comes in and tells Rob to stop over-writing, Rob knows that Nick is right, and then the piece takes full shape in rehearsals with The Misfits of London (a repertory company of actors who know the shows, and our style, and who are involved depending on availability). We are both actors, and perform in the shows as well, so The Misfits are very patient with the number of hats we wear on a daily basis. Thankfully our company director, Anthony Shrubsall, comes in to help steer what we’re creating, and is a cool head in a creative maelstrom.

After Edinburgh, we’ve got a couple of weeks at The Bridewell Theatre in October, and our goal is to take it around the world as a way to spread British humour, Gin, Tonic and happiness.

What should your audience see at the festivals after they’ve seen your show?

The Royal Scottish Pipers Society – We know how hard it is to get tickets to the Tattoo, so, er, basically, these guys are in the same venue as us & are awesome.

Laughing Stock – Effortlessly-talented writer-performers in a sketch comedy show that is thoughtful, ball-bouncingly funny and full of humanity.

Blind Mirth – Rob has insisted on this one, as he was in the troupe when it was founded, and he went to see them last year and was blown away by how bold and fresh they are (and much funnier than him in general, in fact). Talented young improvisers who are going on to Second City stateside, and writing and performing comedy professionally for shows over here.

Shakespeare in the Garden: Twelfth Night – Shakespeare is a God, and this production is full of people we know and respect. A great way to see a show, have a picnic and be out in the early-evening light (inside if it’s raining).

C.S.I. Crime Scene Improvisation – Steve Bond is a friend of The Misfits of London, and a truly funny band of improvisers have put together a really funny, cool impro show.

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