A brand new, never-been-seen-before (and never to be seen again) musical created right on the spot by a talented troop of improvisers. This is what The Showstoppers have been doing for over ten years. Starting at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the group tour extensively across the UK and also currently have a spot down at The Other Palace in London; each night is a completely different show with completely different songs, settings and characters and they manage to pull it off seamlessly every time.
The show begins with a panicked phone call from ‘Cameron Mackintosh’, the producer, who is in desperate need of a brand new musical in the next two hours, a clever gag to give meaning to the show outside of the literal realm. The audience then aid the director, Dylan Emery, by shouting out suggestions of setting, premise and musicals of which later some songs are to be inspired by. After the usual ‘Grease’ and ‘Les Mis’ suggestions, the troop was given a varied bag including Calamity Jane and West Side Story. The setting? Inside a Greggs, a northern holy site for many; and, just like that, ‘Sex, Drugs and Sausage Rolls’, coined by a member of the audience to great laughter and cheering, was created.
The musical opened with a confident and crudely hilarious song as the bakers opened the shop for another day’s work, including an impromptu can-can line as its finale. We met characters Marjorie; Lauren Shearing, Annie; Ali James, and Marcus; Andrew Pugsley, as they began to construct the world of sausage rolls and steak bakes. Soon enough the audience were asked for participation once more to coin Greggs’ ‘life motto’, which turned out to be “smash that pasty!”. The characters later sang ‘The Greggs’ Hymn’ which they accomplished in perfect unison. The occasional interruption by the director to push the narrative/ actors down a specific path, aided by audience suggestion, kept the show fresh and exciting, making the audience truly feel a part of the production from start to finish.
Lauren Shearing was a particular stand-out, often leading the chorus in large numbers, including a Calamity Jane piece, complete with cowboy hat and Southern Belle accent. Shearing is a force to be reckoned with, with fantastic wit and comedic timing whilst aiding, with the others, to push along the storyline. Ali James’ hilarious physical comedy, including transforming into a fountain of custard centre stage, brought an element of absurdity to the performance.
Equal to the actors, but often overlooked, are the musicians and lighting improvisers. Craig Apps' (percussion), and Jordan Clarke's (keyboard) ability to masterfully improvise whole scores of music in real time whilst in the style of famous composers and musicals is nothing short of genius and they make it look easy. The use of lighting made the show feel completely polished and dazzling, including the use of a disco ball during an hilarious ‘I want’ song in the style of Chicago; and constantly perfect spotlight and darkening to draw the audience’s attention to a specific part of the stage.
Having seen Showstopper! The Improvised Musical no less than three times beforehand, the colourful, lively and side-splittingly funny ‘Sex, Drugs and Sausage Rolls’ still felt self-contained and completely different from any others I had previously seen; the Showstoppers are nothing less than impro masterminds.
Reviewer - Neve Francis
on - 23/2/19
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