4 stars
If you’re looking for a night of harmless fun, inappropriate references, and hilarious improv catch Improv Attacks Humanity at FRINGE WORLD.
The premise of the show is simple: the cast will read out a question and the audience, using handfuls of cards received from cast members, submit their funniest card for consideration. There are four rounds of this cult classic card game (Cards Against Humanity) at the start of the show and, from there, the team of improvisers are tasked to build sketches around these far-fetching plot points.
Improvisation requires a concentrated team-effort, and these Melbourne-based comedians are certainly a tight unit.
The cast work seamlessly to perform these improvised scenes. They are clearly very well prepared and familiarised with each other, making scene or character changes a breeze.
There were certainly a few insane scenarios thrown out at this night’s performance (think sex toys, a missing manservant, and lead paint), but the cast took it in their stride and were very inventive with the intertwining of each different scenario.
Much to the audience’s delight, the improvised characters slowly began to interact and overlap with one another, and storylines were eventually resolved—no matter how ludicrous they may have been.
Call-backs were a main point of comedic reference for the cast, and this worked particularly well in the show’s penultimate scene, in which most characters were thrown onto the stage and encouraged to interact with one another based on their previous storylines. There were moments where speed or recall appeared an issue for some cast members, but these were either quickly resolved or emphasised for laughs.
All in all, this show is guaranteed to give you the giggles. Whilst it may not be the slickest show you’ll see at Fringe, its subject matter alone makes for an unexpected night of hilarity.
Tickets available from the FRINGE WORLD website.
TATUM STAFFORD