Director: Joe McNeice
Review by Annie Aslett
Meeting rooms: Tickets
Improvisational comedy is a difficult art – the best improvisational comedians make it look easy. Unfortunately, today’s production of Spontaneous potter reminds us how tricky this medium really is. The premise is pure gold: take suggestions from the audience for a new show, Harry Potter and the (blank space). The actors are left with two absolute gifts from a wide range of suggestions: Harry Potter and the Great British Baking Competition or Harry Potter and the Strategy Tripboth full of promise and easy wins. The latter wins an overwhelming majority in the audience poll, of which we can assume at least 50% are Potterheads who would be content to listen to an hour of obscure HP references. It’s not to be missed.
The level of comedy would be perfect for kids, except for the F-bombs and drug references, which add little but make it difficult to recommend this show for families. Silliness is to be expected in an improv show based on Harry Potter; however, silliness for silliness’ sake with negligible punchlines (or even particularly good Harry Potter References) make for an unpleasant and lengthy hour.
Daniela And Paul Connolly hamstrings the cast at every turn – their introduction of Fawkes and Guy, the Phoenixes who are mute except for their screeching, were hardly funny to begin with and certainly didn’t stand up to appearing and monopolising most of the scenes. Mara Joy And Emily Brady try their best to cope with this infantile portrayal. Joy and Brady, in their scenes as Ron and Hermione, give us a glimpse of what this show could be, and they are valiant in their attempts to bring wit and relevance to the rapidly developing story. The promised Strategy away day never comes to fruition; instead we are faced with Harry Potter and the boys’ holidaywhen the Death Eaters inexplicably head to Magaluf while Ron and Hermione struggle to reach the next stage of their relationship at Hogwarts – two storylines that never intersect. Joy has some clever ideas (Fred and George have to speak at the same time) and does her best with the pesky phoenixes, which earns her some genuine laughs. Brady is the most relaxed on stage and provides the funniest moments of the show – Ron’s attempt to put his arm around Hermione makes even Joy struggle to keep her composure. Unfortunately, these moments are too few and far between, and marred by characters who get nowhere and actors who think crazy = funny. The atmosphere is best summed up by Brady pointedly ignoring Connolly (“Fawkes”) while pretending to make out with himself in the corner.
In improvisation, anything goes as long as it’s funny. As a viewer of an improv comedy, you have to set aside your expectations of the narrative, expect madness, and go along with the journey. An unfunny improv, however, is like a Cruciatus curse.
Review by Annie Aslett ([email protected])
Annie recently graduated from Edinburgh University with a degree in French and Spanish and also holds a Masters in Translation from Glasgow University. She taught Spanish for three years but decided to leave the classroom to pursue personal goals and has been a regular reviewer for Corr Blimey’s Glasgow piano ever since. Annie has always loved musical theatre and her childhood performances included a rousing production of Snow White at The Hall and a soulful performance of Go, Go, Go Joseph at The Living Room.
