Five Comedians, Infinite Possibilities.

Five Comedians, Infinite Possibilities.

We may have farewelled the Crawleys and their servants of Downton Abbey late last year, but Centrepoint Theatre will launch its 2016 season with an hilarious homage to British period drama that’ll delight both fans and non-fans alike. Witness our very own aristocratic English family face the challenges of life in the early twentieth century when one of New Zealand’s longest-running improvisation troupes, The Improvisors, presents Downton Ad-Lib for a strictly limited two-week season from 17-28 February.

Five of the country’s best improv comedians face the challenge of making up a brand new episode every night. Think ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’… with a wide range of hats. “We supply the characters,” says The Improvisors director Tim Gordon. “The audience supplies the key plot ingredients and the result is costume drama as you’ve seen it before and will never see again.”

The Improvisors celebrated their Silver Jubilee in 2015 and Gordon says he still loves the excitement of improvising. “We don’t know what ideas [the audience] are going to throw at us - we do know that our kind of improv magic has been keeping audiences laughing over many years. Each show is completely different - what does stay the same is that it’s always a great night’s entertainment for the whole family.”

At one of the Wellington performances, the audience was asked for an offer of what would make a great father's day present. "Someone came up with the answer, 'X-Box', but of course we are set in the world of the 1920s," says Ian Harcourt, who plays Lady Dowager Twattington in the period drama with a twist. "So we misheard that as 'egg-box' and an egg box became a central feature of the show!”

Downton Ad-Lib is comedy the way you want it – stand up, sit down, lie about – you choose.

“Improv as good as this is like a quality magic show in that it leaves us wondering how on earth they achieved such theatrical alchemy.” - Theatreview

About The Improvisors

The first New Zealand International Festival of the Arts in 1990 gave birth to The Improvisors. Six local actors formed a company to provide an alternative to the corporate entertainment and training on offer at that time. Using their training and experience in Theatresports, they began by bringing tailor-made, improvised comedy to conferences, office functions and product launches throughout the country.

As well as a busy corporate clientele, comprising of hundreds and hundreds of satisfied clients, The Improvisors have performed their improvised murder-mystery show in collaboration with Wallaceville House. They continue to stage successful seasons of Theatresports and other Improv Comedy at Circa Theatre in Wellington.

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