“…is a wonderful thing to see.” ~ Carl Reiner

There’s impro shows all over the calendar in Sydney at the moment (and in many other cities too), so if you enjoyed Comedy Slapdown this week on the Comedy Channel, why not come and see some live impro, and feel the fear right there in front of you?

For the next few Sundays at Belvoir Street Theatre until the Grand Final on December 6th at the Enmore Theatre, teams of improvisors try to knock each other out of the running for the Theatresports(R) Cranston Cup.

Witness the thrills and spills as teams of comic actors create instant scenes based on surprise offers and audience suggestions. Putting their wit and courage to the test, the country’s top improvisers battle it out to get their hands on the biggest, ugliest trophy in Australia.

The Grand Final at Enmore Theatre always sells out, so get booking now, and you could always avoid disappointment and catch one of the Belvoir semi-finals first! I went tonight and had a great time, as did the rest of the audience.

If Sunday night isn’t your thing (or if you just want a bargain), the Roxbury Hotel in Glebe is serving up impro each week as well. On the first and third Tuesdays of each month, Full Body Contact No Love Tennis pits doubles teams against each other in a more long-form style of impro challenge to win something much less ugly (and less big (and less valuable)) than the Cranston Cup. (tickets $10 at door or through moshtix)

Full Body Contact No Love Tennis: pairs of improvisors compete for the tennis u/19 trophy while we dole out audience prizes. you may just win a gem…there’s still a dining table yet to be given away!

The Explosive Minds Team

On alternate weeks, A Regular One Night Stand sets the scene for the ultimate battle of the sexes on Thursday nights (13 Nov, 27 Nov, 11 Dec - tickets $12/10 through moshtix)

A Regular One Night Stand is a hilarious improvised comedy show which pits boys against girls, and sees the audience vote throughout the evening for who they think is the ‘funniest’ sex. The cast improvise scenes, make up songs and jokes and play solo and team challenges.

There’s also the classic weekly Theatresports(R) show, Scared Scriptless, Thursday nights at the Harold Park hotel in Glebe. This is Sydney’s longest-running impro show, and tickets are only $10.

Elsewhere

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Booking details can be found at the performers’/venues’ websites linked below:

The Chaser’s Age of Terror Variety Hour on tour until July 2nd. Remaining shows will be in
SYDNEY • ADELAIDE • CANBERRA • GEELONG • MELBOURNE • BRISBANE • NEWCASTLE

Heath Franklin’s Chopper in Make Deadsh*ts History - on tour until June 8th. Remaining shows will be in
BRISBANE • GOLD COAST • BUNDABERG • DARWIN • MACKAY • CAIRNS • TOWNSVILLE • HOBART

The 2008 Melbourne Comedy Festival Roadshow is gadding about all over the country until the last weeks of June, and then hitting Singapore in July.

Mark Watson: Can I Briefly Talk to You About the Point of Life? (UK) Finishes this Saturday at the Factory Theatre in Enmore, Sydney.

Emma Powell and Bev Killick in Busting Out are touring NSW until mid-June, then BRISBANE from June 11.
SYDNEY • ORANGE • PARRAMATTA • SUTHERLAND • PENRITH • WOLLONGONG • GOSFORD • CANBERRA

Let me know of more tours in comments and I’ll add them above.