Performers during this year’s Improvizza: Malta Improv Festival at Spazju Kreattiv
Improvizza! Malta Improv Festival is the first event of its kind for Malta. The brainchild of theatre-maker Simone Ellul, it continued to build on last year’s successful improv session, Love Secrets. This year the event moved to Spazju Kreattiv to cover a fully-fledged 4-day festival that includes a series of 10- and 4-hour workshops delivered by an ensemble of international professionals. And, of course, there were also daily performances.
Improvizza! Malta Improv Festival – details
This year the event evolved from a session between Simone Ellul and one foreign guest to an entire ensemble. There were six other participants besides Ellul. Countries range d from the UK to Canada, Germany, France and Austria among others so there was a nice mix of cultures and influences.
I did not attend any of the workshops, which offered pretty specialised themes like caper heists, longform improv, the interplay between actors, world creation, non-verbal improv and gender stereotypes. One session covered the topic of how to direct an improv scene, which answered one of my most pressing questions as someone who doesn’t perform: does improv need a director?
Every evening of the festival also included three performances by the artists delivering the workshops. All unscripted, of course.
Improvizza – the shows
I attended the very first evening but had to leave after the second show, so I’m not leaving a star rating this time. The final show on each evening involved the whole ensemble, so I potentially missed out on the best part. That said, what I did catch was not only entertaining, but easily one of the funniest shows that I’ve seen in recent times, alongside String v Spitta by Kiell Smith-Bynoe and Ed MacArthur (which also included a measure of improv, incidentally) so I’m not complaining.
At Home – Owen Scrivens and Jodyanne Fletcher Richardson
The evening started off with a 20-minuter by Owen Scrivens and Jodyanne Fletcher Richardson, called At Home. The piece is performed without taking cues from the audience, which is understandable given the intimacy of the performance and also the fact that, although funny, this is decidedly on the darker side of the improv spectrum. And you wouldn’t want anything to mess with that.
The premise is simple: two acquaintances end up sharing a home under unusual circumstances. Two quirky personalities, each with their own idiosyncrasies that – despite being unscripted – the performers successfully bring out. More than laugh out loud, this is the kind of piece that makes you smile while going “ouch”, and undoubtedly it wouldn’t work without the exceptional synergy between Scrivens and Fletcher Richardson.
What surprised most is how the duo manages to immerse the audience in the world of these two characters, despite such a short timespan. By the end I was genuinely invested into the future of these two, and I wanted to know whether the new job and the travels turned out well. The other surprising thing was that no matter how improbable the cues they gave each other – and some of them were very improbable – neither every lost sight of the spirit of the piece.
The Best Thing Tonight! – The Messengers
The second piece I watched was as improv as improv could be, bringing in all the classic elements including physical humour, miming and audience cues. The Messengers duo, made up of Anne Rab and Jim Libby, literally burst on stage with their infectious energy and informed us that they’d be doing four skits and that we’d get to decide which one was “the best thing tonight” at the end.
Each skit was superb, showing off the performers’ skills and keeping the audience involved. We were given full control over the setting and themes of each skit and we took full advantage. But still, Rab and Libby remained unflappable and greeted everything we threw at them with gusto and talent. Requests varied from an underwater scene, to a highly improbable message involving meatballs and Chianti under a full moon, a trip to the underworld with a brilliant ending, and one minute of teeth brushing. Who’d have thought brushing your teeth could actually be entertaining?
My personal favourite (and that of the audience) was the trip to the underworld, with Libby dictating the improvised narrative and Rab going along sportingly and doing all the silly things he threw at her – from walking like a goat to playing the role of both the witch and Beelzebub, with a rousing finale.
Both actors are highly skilled in physical theatre and movement, which is one reason why each skit landed very well and maintained just the right touch of absurd while keeping everyone engaged. The parts played underwater and when Rab turns into a mermaid were particularly impressive.
Will you enjoy this?
If you like to laugh, undoubtedly. And if you don’t, you probably need to question your life choices. For some reason, improv theatre isn’t quite most people’s go-to when it comes to theatre. At least, not in Malta.
But in reality Improvizza! Malta Theatre Festival offers one of the most accessible theatre experiences, particularly for those who may not be used to a theatre environment. I look forward to next year’s edition.
