The Improverts is a

improvisational comedy Improvisational theatre, often called improvisation or improv, is the form of theatre, often comedy, in which most or all of what is performed is unplanned or unscripted: created spontaneously by the performers. In its purest form, the dialogue, a ...

troupe from the

Edinburgh University Theatre Company Edinburgh University Theatre Company (EUTC) is a student theatre company at the University of Edinburgh. The EUTC was founded in 1871 as the ''Edinburgh University Amateur Dramatic Club'' and adopted its current name in the 1970s. Since 1980 it ha ...

, which primarily performs at the

Bedlam Theatre Bedlam Theatre is a theatre in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. The building was completed in 1848 for the New North Free Church. After closing as a church in 1941, the building served as a chaplaincy centre and then a store for the Univers ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...

. They perform weekly during

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted ...

's term time and every night during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

History

The Edinburgh University Theatre Company's improvised comedy troupe now known as The Improverts was founded in

in 1989 by Canadian-born Toph Marshall. He named it

Theatresports Theatresports is a form of improvisational theatre, which uses the format of a competition for dramatic effect. Opposing teams can perform scenes based on audience suggestions, with ratings by the audience or by a panel of judges. Developed by di ...

after the form of competitive improvisation developed by director

Keith Johnstone Keith Johnstone (born February 21, 1933) is a British and Canadian pioneer of improvisational theatre, best known for inventing the ''Impro System'', part of which are the Theatresports. He is also an educator, playwright, actor and theatre dir ...

in Calgary,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

in 1976. As the show grew in popularity the name was changed, during the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, (for copyright reasons) to Impro-Vegetables and then finally, in the 90s, to The Improverts. The Improverts was adopted as a permanent, year-round name from September 1997 onwards. Since the show's inception it has kept the

as its primary performance space, running weekly during

's term time and then at the

Edinburgh Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

. Each year new players are recruited largely, though not exclusively, from the student population though every player must be a member of the Edinburgh University Theatre Company. The troupe provides free weekly workshops in improvisation for the general public in order to attract new talent to the group. Carrying on the teachings of

, the show's format has changed over time, but stayed within the short-form sketch mould similar to TV's ''

Whose Line is it Anyway? ''Whose Line Is It Anyway?'' is a short-form improvisational comedy show originating as a British radio programme, before moving to British television in 1988. Following the conclusion of the British run in 1999, ABC began airing an American ...

''.

Current activities

During term time, the Improverts play weekly at Bedlam Theatre, and hold weekly free improvisation workshops for the general public.

Notable alumni of the Improverts

Maria Bamford Maria Bamford (born September 3, 1970) is an American actress and stand-up comedian. Her work has drawn critical acclaim and controversy because her humor often uses self-deprecating and dark topics, including her dysfunctional family, depressio ...

(''

Arrested Development The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...

'', '' The Comedians of Comedy'') *

Mitch Benn Mitchell John Benn (born 20 January 1970) is an English comedian, author and musician known for his comedy rock songs performed on BBC radio. He was, until 2016, a regular contributor to BBC Radio 4's satirical programme '' The Now Show'', and h ...

(''The Now Show'', ''Mitch Benn's Crimes Against Music'') *Jenny Colgan (''Amanda's Wedding'', ''Looking for Andrew McCarthy'', ''West End Girls'') *Mark Dolan (''Balls of Steel (TV), Balls of Steel'') *Miles Jupp (''Rev. (TV series), Rev'', ''Miles Jupp's Real World'') *Humphrey Ker (''The Penny Dreadfuls present...The Brothers Faversham, The Brothers Faversham'', ''Fast and Loose (2011 TV series), Fast and Loose'') *Lucy Kirkwood (''Chimerica (play), Chimerica'', ''Tinderbox'') *Ewen MacIntosh (''The Office (UK TV series), The Office'') *Kevin McKidd (''Trainspotting (film), Trainspotting'', ''Dog Soldiers (film), Dog Soldiers'', ''Rome (TV series), Rome,'' Grey's Anatomy) *David Reed (comedian), David Reed (''The Penny Dreadfuls present...The Brothers Faversham, The Brothers Faversham'', ''It's Kevin'') *Al Smith (playwright), Al Smith (''Enola'', ''The Cut (BBC series), The Cut'') *Thom Tuck (''The Penny Dreadfuls present...The Brothers Faversham, The Brothers Faversham'')

External links

The Improverts official site

References

{{reflist Improvisational troupes Clubs and societies of the University of Edinburgh Student theatre in Scotland Amateur theatre companies in Scotland Student comedy troupes