Cable Forum - View Single Post - Paul Merton says that Improv is dismissed in this country.

Stuart · 13-04-2010, 13:08

Paul Merton has said he feels a little like an outsider in Comedy because his comedy primarily relies on Improv.

I have to admit, I find that a little sad. Done well, Improv can be extremely funny, IMO. Look at some of the early Robin Williams acts for that (his later ones are still as funny, but he appears to be following an act rather than improvising). There was even one stage where he would do what other comedians did later on "Who's line is it anyway?". He would ask the audience to provide one (or two) subjects and a style, then he would improvise a complete sketch in that style around those subjects.

Paul even said that the reason that his recent ITV show didn't work well because ITV insisted on sticking people in it who were were already known ITV stars (soap stars etc) rather than people who had the confidence and experience required to improvise well. Soap Stars, while they may be good actors, are not necessarily the best people to improvise as they are used to following a script.

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/...ss-improv.html

I have to admit, I think (in terms of TV anyway), improv is largely ignored. Something I think is a shame, as it can (if well done) be very entertaining.

There are a lot of comedians (and actors) who I think would do a great job of creating an improv show. It's also not as if it is something new. Actors have done it as part of their training for years, and some of the great comedians could improvise well as well, although they tend to improvise jokes in response to something the audience have done or someone has said. Bob Monkhouse was one that springs to mind (although he was excellent at virtually any style of comedy).

13-04-2010, 13:08	#1
Stuart - Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Somewhere Services: Virgin for TV and Internet, BT for phone Posts: 26,546	Paul Merton says that Improv is dismissed in this country. Paul Merton has said he feels a little like an outsider in Comedy because his comedy primarily relies on Improv. I have to admit, I find that a little sad. Done well, Improv can be extremely funny, IMO. Look at some of the early Robin Williams acts for that (his later ones are still as funny, but he appears to be following an act rather than improvising). There was even one stage where he would do what other comedians did later on "Who's line is it anyway?". He would ask the audience to provide one (or two) subjects and a style, then he would improvise a complete sketch in that style around those subjects. Paul even said that the reason that his recent ITV show didn't work well because ITV insisted on sticking people in it who were were already known ITV stars (soap stars etc) rather than people who had the confidence and experience required to improvise well. Soap Stars, while they may be good actors, are not necessarily the best people to improvise as they are used to following a script. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/showbiz/...ss-improv.html I have to admit, I think (in terms of TV anyway), improv is largely ignored. Something I think is a shame, as it can (if well done) be very entertaining. There are a lot of comedians (and actors) who I think would do a great job of creating an improv show. It's also not as if it is something new. Actors have done it as part of their training for years, and some of the great comedians could improvise well as well, although they tend to improvise jokes in response to something the audience have done or someone has said. Bob Monkhouse was one that springs to mind (although he was excellent at virtually any style of comedy).