The thing about improv comedy is that every show will be slightly different. Which makes things fun for audiences, while simultaneously harder to review. But every improv show benefits from having a strong backbone upon which to hang its freshly constructed comedy. As its name may suggest, Improv the Dead’s spine is the perennially popular zombie movie.
The conceit, if one can call it that, is that the company onstage are filmmakers, recreating one of their many, many genre films. Audience suggestions are used to create the overall arc of the story – in this case, a florist and her friends travelling the country in order to reach what is rumoured to be a zombie-free haven in Manchester’s Stretford Arndale Centre. As the story unfolds, cast members “pause” the action as if we are watching a DVD, and in their imagined roles as production team members on a commentary track, either call for new prompts or contribute their own.
And so we get to see what it would be like if Sir Ian McKellen were playing a sentient hedge, or experience a version of Marvel character Hawkeye who talks like a Teletubby. Along the way, characters who have not been “turned” wear white shirts, which, when ripped open, reveal customised T-shirts implying chest bones and gore to depict a zombie character. Blood erupts from bitten victims in the form of paper rose petals. The low-fi ridiculousness adds to the charm.
As with all improv, though, it is possible for dead ends to appear and for a performer to find themselves stuck. On this occasion, the character of Bitey – a tamed zombie with a sewn-up mouth who performs a tap-dancing routine – sticks around for too long, and the performer is stuck waiting for others to suggest what they should do.
Overall, though, this is a fun evening of improv comedy. There are fits and starts, to be sure, and the occasional cue from one performer is missed or entirely dropped by a colleague. And so, if anybody has yet to be convinced of the unique charms of improv comedy, Improv the Dead may not be the show to win them over. But for anybody looking for 50 minutes of improvised silliness, this team’s approach is a fun spin on the genre. Who isn’t intrigued by a spot of “Aaargh, and”?
Runs until 23 August 2025
Camden Fringe runs until 24 August 2025