The Same Faces, Improvised Comedy at the Little Theatre

If you’ve always wanted to see a show about Butlins’ Red Coats, a woman possessed by no fewer than five Looney Tunes characters, drunk riding a horse home after a night out and unaired Stannah Stairlift ads then I have good news and bad news.

The good news is that that exact show was performed on the mainstage of The Little Theatre in Leicester on Saturday. The bad news is that that show will never be seen again as it was created on the spot by a talented troupe of improvisers known as The Same Faces.

Led by MC Tom Young, Saturday’s performance by The Same Faces also featured Allan Smith, Dave Gotheridge, Natalie Beniston, Lindsey Warnes, George Butcher, and finally Paul Timms the group’s pianist.

The show takes the form of a series of short games in which the performers use suggestions from the audience as their inspiration to create an improvised scene. If you’ve seen Whose Line Is It Anyway, then that’s the sort of thing you can expect here. For example, one game sees Gotheridge deliver a Ted talk-style presentation (on ceiling fans of all things)…but in a gibberish language whilst Beniston translates.

Improv is the art of creative collaboration, and key to this is strong chemistry between players. The Same Faces have clearly developed this and they were all able to quickly get on the same page as one another and were evidently having as much fun on stage as the audience was watching them.

The show’s best games are generally those incorporating a musical element. Although all the players have decent voices, Beniston’s voice is by far the strongest and I was blown away by her vocals when she fully lets rip. In particular, Beniston’s take on Minnie the Moocher (in this version a Red Coat) is a show highlight.

Many of the games, regardless of whether it is a musical one or not, are supported by Timms on the keyboard. His playing adds atmosphere and humour to the games. I especially enjoyed the sci-fi sounds added to Warnes’ alien pie song and his skilful interpretation of Young’s very specific descriptions of a ‘metal’ song about Red Coats (at this point referring to the military group rather than Butlins entertainers).

Timms’ playing also supported the best performance of Film Noir I’ve ever watched. In this game Young’s and Smith’s characters each deliver their internal thoughts to the audience before saying their next line of in-scene dialogue. The resulting twists and turns (appropriate as the scene took place in a theme park) made for a surprisingly deep and engaging scene about a lost wrench and Uno.

For me, the game of the evening was Bartender. Here multiple players would each approach the bar manned by Smith to explain, through song, a problem they are facing. Then Smith, the kindly bartender, would solve their problem…also through song. Gotheridge’s debilitating condition of dying unless he spun around every three seconds and Smith’s resulting “let’s spin the room” solution was joyous to watch both for the great lyricism but the wonderful physicality on show.

For the most part the show has strong momentum, with little downtime between the games making for a smooth show.

However, the backline games of Ad Break and Scenes We’d Like to See lack that same pace and feel a tad awkward whilst the audience waits for someone to step forward with a one liner. Collecting a broader range of audience suggestions, discarding the ones either too political or lacking sufficient substance, and perhaps moving on to the next suggestion quicker could have given the performers more to play with and a better opportunity to showcase their wit.

That said, the consistently high energy from the performers throughout made for a very fun show. The improv skills of the players are all near impeccable with lots of great gags as well as genuinely engaging storytelling and character creation. Many of the scenes I would happily watch full length shows of!

The Same Faces put on a showcase of short-form improv talent with laughs start to finish. I look forward to seeing them perform again soon, and I recommend looking into their next shows which are at Wygston’s House in February for the Leicester Comedy Festival.