Review by Steve Bennett

Because improv has never really caught on in this country, there’s a huge void between the very few who can do it expertly – Comedy Store Players, Stephen Frost – and a thousands of would-be actors who see it only as a performance exercise, not a viable form of entertainment in itself.

Brighton’s Hee-Ha’s fall somewhere in the middle; they are all able performers capable of improvising punchlines, although the ratio of scenes that are rewarding to those that fumble around uncertainly is still a little out of whack.

Their show comprises the short-form games of Whose Line?, but they are not quite the usual mix, immediately giving proceedings a flick of originality. This starts with the opening scene, in which our players have to think up actual jokes that start ‘168 XXXes walk into a bar…’ with the profession of the drinkers suggested by the audience. The result is necessarily heavily puntastic, but amid all the groans and sub-Christmas cracker lines, a couple of more imaginative gags raise the standard.

Unlike most improv troups, this six-hander (five improvisers and the head-girlish compere) actually work better in games that play to solo strengths. They don’t always play that well with others, getting tangled up with the compromises of collaboration rather that sparking off their comrades. A game where four of them rotate, in pairs, four separate scenes uses the dynamism of the format to make up for a stilted, under-yielding performance.

In other scenes, old techniques are employed: including one performer providing the hands for another, and a game in which each player alternates words in a sentence – which they occasionally messed up, but decided to ignore rather than making comic capital out of the snafu.

A game in which the three male Hee-Has each improvisee Creature Comfort-type monologues is a real highlight, their mood defined by the facial expression they adopt at random. And a neat madrigal brings the show to a close, even if the workings of this one are easily exposed. That they are all solid performers with cheery demeanour, helps the hour rattle along amiably, and there’s enough wit to keep everyone entertained, even if they are not quite relaxed enough working as a team for all to run fluidly.

Review date: 16 May 2011
Reviewed by: Steve Bennett
Reviewed at: Brighton Caroline of Brunswick