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So here’s the deal: you’ve got a troop of actors and an energetic compere. The audience shouts out what they want to see in terms of location, a couple of characters, opening number and name of the show. The poor souls in coloured t-shirts then have to get up and, well, do it.

Normally at this point I would give some idea of what you can expect to see from in terms of plot, theme, characters – but that is obviously a bit of a problem when it comes to an improvised musical. On the flip side, for once there’s no need to worry about giving away too many spoilers because due to aforementioned audience participation, the show is different every night.

On my trip to The Improv Musical I witnessed both the world premiere and final ever performance of Wish You Here,  a musical set on a rainy campsite which is playing host to some manner of football training camp. Romance blossoms between Stevie (a female football player trying to make it in a man’s world) and a ‘lost pizza delivery guy’, while two sexist club managers plot to keep women out of the game forever and ‘Dwane Doony’,  the worst player signed to Rochdale Football club, tries to be better.

Sounds bizarre? It is, but fortunately, they do it very well and the show is a total, rollicking hoot. After a break for more audience input, we saw a pizza zombie monster singing a reggae number, a rap battle between Dwane Doony and the pizza guy after a love triangle emerges, and a descent into many, many football jokes.

I take my hat off to these performers, and the talented pianist, because what they do certainly takes some balls, if you’ll pardon the pun. The Improv Musical will sink or swim by the ideas it has to work with, the ideas us the audience shout out. You can get a sense of the variety of weird and wonderful songs created by checking out its Facebook page, but I have a feeling the particular show I saw was not the best it can get.  If you go along, think up a few good ideas to put the cast’s powers of improvisation to the test.

The Improv Musical is playing at C Venue 34 from the 10-17 and the 19-31 of August. For more information and tickets, click here.