It’s improv… but not as you know it! Move over short games, and make way for a fully improvised feature length comic book. Each month at the Museum of Comedy the eight-strong group of comedy improvisers known as Hivemind Improv shape a Marvel-inspired blockbuster around a superhero created by the crowd. Full of dizzying action sequences, special effects, and live music, prepare to be taken on a madcap journey across time and space in Improvengers: Pretendgame. Hivemind may not have CGI, or a billion-dollar budget, but they do have enthusiasm…and a heavy-duty crash mat. The Age of Ultron is over – it’s time to usher in the Age of Improv.
When the gang isn’t playing the hero, devious plotting abounds on the last Friday of every month when Hivemind improvise a medieval fantasy adventure of epic proportions. Filled with blood and wine, honour and treachery, fellowships and actual ships. Armed with only a map the audience draws to guide them, Hivemind improvise the Lord of the Game of the Ring of Thrones – a tale that has never been told before, and will never be told again. Disclaimer: no dragons will be harmed in making these legends.
Founding member of Hivemind Improv, Alex O’Bryan-Tear, said: “What we love about fantasy is that every story is set in a completely different world, with its own culture, its own rules of science and magic, and its own people. That’s how each night feels unique.”
Fellow member, Harriet Cartledge, added: “Creating an improvised hour-long play is obviously a challenge, but so satisfying. I love when we create an entire story from scratch, and afterwards people ask if we had written any of it in advance. That’s when you know the work is paying off!”
Accompanied by a fully improvised live score, both shows are a sure-fire hit with fans of improv comedy and fantasy storytelling alike. This year, Hivemind enjoyed successful runs at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with both Lord of the Game of the Ring of Thrones and Improvengers: Pretendgame. Previous Hivemind shows include Stick and Twisted, Playlight Robbery, Brainstorm, and An Offer You Can’t Refuse.
Hivemind is comprised of friends and improvisers Alex O’Bryan-Tear, Harriet Cartledge, Jesse Locke, Ellie Griffiths, Jack Lawrence, Adi George, Josh Hunt and James Gard. The founding members met at Cambridge University’s Improv Society – the Cambridge Impronauts – and the eight-strong group have been performing in London since graduating from Cambridge in 2016. Fellow Cambridge graduates, talented musicians Stephen Gage and Natalie Jobbin provide an improvised live score for Hivemind’s performances.
Hivemind can be booked for private entertainment such as birthdays, weddings, Christmas parties, and corporate events. They also offer corporate improv training – a fun and unusual way to develop soft skills for business.
Title: Improvengers: Pretendgame / Lord of the Game of the Ring of Thrones
Venue: Museum of Comedy, The Undercroft, Bloomsbury Way, Holborn, London
Dates:
Improvengers: Pretendgame
13th December 2019
10th January 2020
Lord of the Game of the Ring of Thrones
29th November 2019
27th December 2019
31st January 2020
Time: 7pm
Duration: 1 Hour
Entry: £9 standard, £7 concession
Website: www.hivemindimprov.com
Photo Credit: Tom Garnett
