Presented by Soap! Improv
Reviewed 14 Sept 2017
Adelaide has a strong tradition of improv theatre, with regular performances and workshops throughout the year. Adding to this wealth of theatrical delights is Soap! Improv’s weekly serial Upstairs Downton.
Starting last week, the group is presenting an on-going, improvised ‘Upstairs Downstairs’-style show. Although each performance is self-contained, there will be a continuum of some characters and plot-lines. And at a mere $10 a ticket, the keen theatre-goer could go every week without breaking the bank.
The players are drawn from the ensemble of Eden Trebilco, Claire Bottrall, Paul Gordon, Kirsty Wigg, Will Mellor, Maria Humphries, Marshall Cowan, Curtis Shipley and Joshua Kapitza, experienced and splendid performers all.
Beginning, in true improv style, with suggestions from the audience, the action kicked off last Thursday with the episode The Maid’s Wagon. By the end of the hour we had three people dead, a forbidden relationship and a lot of arguments over cows! The small but appreciative audience lapped it up.
The show did drag a little in parts, which is understandable when everything is being made up on the spot. However, because of the nature of this on-going, character-driven work, I think it could have improved with the ensemble taking a more commedia approach to it, with some basic action lines and characters developed prior to the first show. This would have allowed the performers to spend less time struggling for a plot-line and more time in spontaneous humour.
I took two younger people with me, and my twelve-year-old male companion was so taken with the show that he wants to see it every Thursday! We are all keen to know if young Lord Carsinia gets his comeuppance…
Upstairs Downton plays every Thursday night from 7.30, from 14th September to 26th October (no show on the 5th Oct) at The Studio at The Bakehouse. Book tickets through the link below, or at the door on the night.
http://www.bakehousetheatre.com/shows/improv-adelaide-septemberoctober-season
Review by Tracey Korsten
http://www.improvadelaide.com/
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