Showstopper! The Improvised Musical

Having been a mainstay of the UK's theatrical scene for many years now, Showstopper! The Improvised Musical, created by Adam Meggido and Dylan Emery, has entertained audiences with its phenomenal array of talent, comedy, skill and singing. Each performance is the debut of a brand-new musical built upon suggestions from the audience, before stories, characters and musical numbers are created and developed live on stage. Improvisation is a tricky skill and yet Showstoppers adds the challenge of musical numbers and makes it look seamless, which is what has given them their huge success and longevity, including a notable reputation at the famed Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Before they head to Scotland for their 17th year, and in between their London performances, they are once again on the road and last night were in Cambridge for a night full of improvised silliness.

The show opens with a ringing of the phone, which is answered by Sean McCann, who serves as the production's writer, director, producer and audience liaison. With a producer in need of a brand-new musical, he turns to the audience as the writer's room for ideas. McCann's immediate energy and quick wit make him fantastic as the bridge between the audience and performers, his eager energy going a long way in making people comfortable. After taking some ideas such as a day out in London, time travelling ducks, the Isle of Man TT and penguins in the desert, the audience finally landed on an inverted version of Billy Elliott, aptly titled Elliottey Bill, which follows a family of dancers and the young son who dreams of working in the shoelace factory. With the audience already thrilled at the very concept, all that was left to do was collect some recognisable musicals for future inspiration and then it was showtime.

The musical began with a song all about the Bill family and their tenured history of dancing since 1822. But Horatio Bill, his wife and her father are faced with the fact that young Elliottey does not have the same level of talent as them. This immediate world building is fantastic to watch as each of the performers bounce off one another and shift their own direction to play along. Seeing Joshua C. Jackson morph into an old man at the mention of the word grandad and Adam Meggido craft a ridiculous piece of foreshadowing as he refers to his twin brother are just two examples early on of how good The Showstoppers are at crafting stories. While Andrew Pugsley and Adam Meggido took on the primary roles, Miracle Chance and Joshua C. Jackson both shine playing a variety of different roles and delivering some of the biggest laughs. What could just become a series of bits and sketches gets developed and carried through until the end, becoming a fully fleshed out narrative with character arcs, drama and reasoning that all sits alongside the comedy. That is not to say it was all smooth sailing. Jackson's struggle with holding an accent left everyone in hysterics while the cast struggled to keep themselves together, an amusing reflection of how much fun the performers have each night as they craft characters and narratives with one another. The Billy Elliott references came in thick and fast, first with the dancers strike and then with the lack of electricity Elly has for dancing, a joke that displays just one of the elements that makes Showstoppers so special. They clearly have a vast knowledge of musicals and theatre, something Sean McCann especially demonstrates throughout, and use that knowledge to not only pay tribute but lovingly spoof those very musicals both in the story and in the music.