Review: The League of Improv with George Fouracres (Phoenix Arts Club)

Review by Daz Gale

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

A lot of planning can go into comedy to ensure that every laugh lands perfectly. Timing is everything, as even the funniest line can fall flat with the wrong delivery.

And then there's improv.

No planning is involved, just absolute spontaneity from people who are masters of their craft and also benefit from having naturally funny bones. The thing with improvisation shows is they are a great leveller - the audience and performers are in the same boat of not having a clue what is about to happen on that stage, with each show unique, never to be repeated. There's something incredibly exciting and a bit dangerous about that. It was with that in mind that I took myself down to Phoenix Arts Club to see their monthly show, The League of Improv. With two of the All That Dazzles team reviewing it in the past, and this month's special guest being the incentive I needed to finally check it out for myself. But would this improvised funny be in a league of its own, or would it fail to make me laugh as much as some of the other comedy troupes I have seen?

The setup for The League of Improv is fairly simple. Each month, a special guest joins the regular performers with no script or planning, just pure spontaneity. It is down to that guest to engage with the audience, asking for random words, places, animals or whatever else comes to mind. Just like magic, the performers then start acting out sketches inspired by those random and unexpected suggestions.

This month's special guest is someone who proved to be one of the standout stars of the first series of Saturday Night Live UK. Slightly chaotic but always funny, George Fouracres frequently saw his sketches in the show spread like wildfire through social media, quickly winning himself a legion of fans and witnessing campaigns for more instalments of ‘45 Seconds with Fouracres’ (it's criminal there's only been two of them). It's no surprise that his attachment to this performance ensured a sellout, with audience members getting the chance to see the hilarious star on stage for the first time since the first series concluded.

If George Fouracres consistently made me laugh on TV, he somehow made me laugh even harder in person. The man doesn't need to do anything,, and he can reduce an audience to hysterics. Be it a look, a reaction or a simple word, Fouracres never misses and his hosting gig here demonstrated that perfectly as he reacted to the audience suggestions, often going off on a tangent with history lessons, each fact tying in to the one that came before until we ended up as far away from the original subject as possible. Revelations about himself, such as the food he enjoys when he's alone also paved the way for hilarious moments that would go on to be used in the sketches.

Fouracres also got involved with the improv sketches, often getting the funniest moments of the night from the second he set foot on stage. His characters on the night ranged from King Henry VIII, Hagrid and a blisteringly funny Vincent Van Gogh. We were also treated to an Irish grandad not too dissimilar from one of his Saturday Night Live characters, with an obligatory Keir Starmer impression thrown in for good measure.

It isn't a one-man show, however, with seven hilarious performers making up the lion's share of the improv in the sketches. The skill that goes into creating something out of nothing, as they do, should never be underestimated, proving incredibly impressive and how funny they managed to make the most minor of things. At this performance, the talented group on hand to faultlessly entertain were Damian Arnold, the founder of the troupe, alongside Fran Reid, Sean McInerny, Rhys Collier, Zoe Dunn, Chris Rosser and Lora Hristova. Hristova also served as the host of the evening before handing the mic to Fouracres, with a great knack for settling the audience in and getting a feel for what kind of vibe it was going to be (on this night, it was the audience continually leaving her hanging, or punking her, to use her words).

A surprising chat from an audience member who turned out to be an animation historian led to the origins of Goofy effortlessly being inserted into sketches. Other suggestions that made it into the show were Angel Delight, a choir of foxes, and an owl turning into the weirdest Harry Potter-inspired sketch anyone has ever seen. Such is the nature of these shows that not everything works as well as others, with some awkward moments with performers on different pages, or failing to make magic happen. However, the overall hit rate of these clearly hilarious performers really impressed for the most part.

I had heard great things about The League Of Improv, and seeing it for myself left me in no doubt that what I had heard was right. These players are experts in their fields with a fantastic knack for comedy, with just the right brand of chaos resulting in a hilarious night. I’m in no doubt that I’ll return again to see what they create next time, with a different guest each time bringing something fresh to the mix. If this night demonstrated the talents of all at The League Of Improv, it did exactly the same for George Fouracres, confirming him as one of Britain’s brightest comedic talents and someone whose star is only going to continue to grow in the years to come. Naturally and magnificently funny, Fouracres mixed with The League of Improv left me in stitches. There is nothing like a good laugh in the theatre, and The League Of Improv is up there as one of the funniest shows you will see on a London stage at the moment.

The League of Improv next perform at Phoenix Arts Club on July 8th with special guest Marcus Brigstocke. Tickets and more information at https://www.theleagueofimprov.com/