Paul Merton says that Improv is dismissed in this country.

[Stuart]

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).

It's not really what I had defined as Improv but Dara O'Briain's stand-up shows contain an awful lot of improvised jokes dependent on questions he asks the audience. Usually there is something about whichever career they pick and maybe relate it to something someone else has said. Then there are other questions such as 'have you ever interrupted a crime'.

[Taf]

The House of Commons is still full of improv.... apart from the reams and reams of prepared statements, waffle and bullcrap....

[Russ]

Improv (if done properly) can be brilliant - in 1992 I saw Merton and some of the Comedy Store Players on their UK tour, he was using some of the lesser-known people who occasionally appeared on Whose Line Is It Anyway and it was one of the funniest things I'd ever seen.

[Stuart]

Russ: Agreed. I saw (on video only, sadly) some of Robin Williams earlier work. The one I was thinking of in particular was one night when he asked for subjects and a style. He got Studio 54 (the old club), Three Mile Island and as the style, someone suggested Shakespear.

He managed to improvise a short, and quite funny sketch about both subjects and did the whole thing in Shakespearean style Iambic pentameter. Of course, he was on drugs at the time which probably helped, if anything.

---------- Post added at 15:08 ---------- Previous post was at 15:06 ----------

Guys, while Paul Merton does do satire in one show (although his humour on HIGNFY tends toward the surreal rather than the satirical), can we keep the politics out of this thread?

[Tezcatlipoca]

Originally Posted by Russ

Improv (if done properly) can be brilliant - in 1992 I saw Merton and some of the Comedy Store Players on their UK tour, he was using some of the lesser-known people who occasionally appeared on Whose Line Is It Anyway and it was one of the funniest things I'd ever seen.

Agreed. I saw Merton & co in London a few years ago. Absolutely hilarious.


One of the funniest comedy shows I've seen was "Boom Chicago" in Amsterdam, which was improv.