Photo credit – Andrew Ab Photography
Established in 2022, Liverpool Improv Festival (LIF) held its first event in 2023 and offers an important platform for improvisers from a global community, to come together to perform their shows, but also to meet, to share ideas, and to forge new friendships. The festival not only provides a place to perform, but it also hosts a series of workshops enabling improvisers to widen their skill set, or to share their skills with fellow improvisers. Co-directors Mark Smith, and Jen Hardy, work extremely hard to pull the show together, with the help of Su Jackson (Wellness Supervisor), Colleen Campbell (Programme Team), Hal Munger (Podcaster), Kat Cooke (Audience Liaison), Ryan Middleton (Production Manager), Neeley Gale (Ancestors Assistant), Ollie Wilson (Musician), and Andrew AB (Photographer).
This year the event ran from the 7th-10th May, with performances over three days, with Theatre Muse UK (TM) attending all performances from the 8th-9th May. This is the second year that TM’s founder Caroline Worswick has attended the festival, last wearing her other hat, as a regional editor of North West End UK. As a part of TM’s development, focusing on supporting theatre-makers is the main priority, and so covering not only the performances, but also attending a rehearsal, and a workshop was important to the wider reporting of this multi-faceted event. Increasing the visibility of improvisation is so important but also to improve knowledge of what it takes to bring an improvised show to the stage.
Photo credit – Andrew Ab Photography
I must thank everyone involved in the rehearsal of Ancestors, and to those who took part in The School of Night workshop for allowing me to trespass, and to write about your experiences. The summaries of both of these shows, can be found on the Theatre Muse UK website (see links below).
Now turning to the shows whose performances I attended. It is a testament to the excellent team who planned the festival, that no two shows were alike. Empty Set’s here.elsewhere offered an unusual merging of performance and art, using an iPhone camera and a projector so that the audience could see the subject of the live video. This team of three improvisers took it in turns to find a subject for the video livestream, to create a picture, but to also improvise a story around the subject matter. Highly creative, and it was refreshing to see a different approach to improvisation.
Photo credit – Andrew Ab Photography
The Library of the Forgotten Books – Andel Sudik and Rebecca MacMillan are librarians, so…shhhh! Instead of taking a book out from their library, you are invited to donate a book which will be inspected, read, and then you must judge their fate. We saw a prowling tiger (Smiley Tiger book), a dragon asleep on a mountain, and a vengeful bee, and some interesting book juggling. But which book did the audience decide to remember – Smiley Tiger, and which one was to be forgotten – The Perry Bible Foundation Almanac. The offending book was torn up, and the remnants were given to a sympathetic audience member.
Play It Again welcomed us to their lounge bar, where they entertained us with such classics as Let There Be Lounge to set the scene. From audience suggestions they created a James Bond/Groundhog Day number; The Ballad of Lilith & Nish, and a song about Liverpool, It Breaks My Heart To Say Ta-rah!
Holding an audience’s attention for an hour just planning the layout of a room you would never think would work but hold our attention it did! David Elms Describes A Room, invited the audience to join in, and do exactly that. The stage became a house with the layout to be determined. The house was filled with a rocking horse for a 9-10 yr old, a cheeseboard, a manicured lawn with a gnome, a fishpond with dead fish, an energetic dog called Bruce, a duck called Frank, a go-kart track in a room, etc. But the astonishing part of this performance, was Elms’ faultless memory, everything had a place, and he never missed a beat when recalling and improvising a short story to finalise the piece. The show is touring, go and see!
Photo credit – Andrew Ab Photography
The Sinner’s Table invited the audience to a wedding, and to be a fly-on-the-wall at one of the guest tables. A mixed group of individuals who awkwardly shared conversation about soap being better than anti-bacterial gel; people who drive a Prius are communists; champagne’s bubbles are put in by a SodaStream; and disco dancing to a Grease mega-mix and Electric Avenue – an interesting and funny show!
A duo, solo show, with T J Mannix at the helm, accompanied by musician Ollie Wilson. T J Mannix in Limboland begins as a solo performance but then morphs into a duo with Mannix playing both roles, and then he takes on a five-person scene with him playing all five parts. The solo show involves a man who has been arrested monologuing to a two-way mirror, the duo involves a man and woman wearing EarPods, but finally breaking down their walls with conversation, and they hit it off. The final scene with five characters, allows Mannix to really show off his diversity, and is a multi-layered performance. This show was extraordinary!
Friday was rounded off with an Improv Jam hosted by Mike Burton and Jen Hardy who whipped up the audience’s enthusiasm to join in some improv games.
Photo credit – Andrew Ab Photography
Saturday, got underway with the excellent Breakfast of Champions, who improvised a show based upon one word from the audience – ‘crystal,’ and then these skilful performers executed a series of scenes, rotating the storylines and developing them as they progressed. The gentleman who bought an astrology shop, telling horoscopes with no idea what he is talking about; a story about ancestors who are linked by time; and a man who is so desperate to impress his masticating boss, that he will kill an orphan (looks for a horrified expression emoji!!!).
Taking its title from ‘The Twilight Zone’, But of Mind, digs into the corners of imagination to create a sister who goes missing when she goes caving, her worried sister and a policeman search for her, but she is happy in the cave, the people with her are worried and want to leave, but Hope is in her happy place. Finally, filled with bourbon, the policeman and Hope’s sister finally find her, but she does not want to leave, so they all move into the cave together, and they live happily ever after – lovely!
To read the summary of Ancestors go to – https://theatremuseuk.org/2026/05/12/ancestors-from-rehearsal-to-stage-liverpool-improv-festival/
Oh, the wonderful Phyllida Sings – singing her back catalogue, about her ex-boyfriend Steven, such gems as ‘Can’t Even’ a song she wrote as a four-year-old called ‘Three Letters’ (A-B-C); and ‘The Life of the Bunny Rabbit, Part 1’. The finale was a corker called ‘Conkers,’ and you can buy all nine tracks on her new album – ‘The Wonder of Conkers’ – smashing!
A Very Capable Boy were fast-paced, clever, and very funny – a mountain climber project manager who has his barista coffee flown in from Nepal; trouble in love with a couple who struggle to declare their love for each other; siblings whose brother has stolen a car laden truck, drown their sorrows a parade; a guy and his love interest chilling in his dad’s huge sauna, you’re not a BAD boy and dad likes you, he’s offered you a job in his plumbing business – no to the job, and yes to you!
I have written a synopsis of the workshop and performance of The School of Night Ensemble – https://theatremuseuk.org/2026/05/14/the-school-of-night-ensemble-workshop-to-bardic-improv-liverpool-improv-festival/
Photo credit – Andrew Ab Photography
And finally, Improv The Dead gave us their improv show based upon Zombie Apocalypse, and the genre chosen is a mash-up ’Kung Fu Space Western,’ and a 10-part HBO drama called ‘Breaking Good’ will evolve from it. Spooky happenings in hotel corridors, a very strange family arrangement between Kathleen, Darren, Edward and her dad, a grandfather clock that has been hidden for 50 years, professional tennis players training at the zombie hotel…and zombies – lots of zombies! Such fun!
Looking back at the event, it is lovely to reminisce over the two days spent in the company of such warm and friendly people. The organisation of the event was exceptional, and the LIF team should be enormously proud of what they have achieved. This is global event, and I am sure it will continue to grow in popularity. The festival attracts top quality acts, and the welcoming atmosphere encourages networking and friendship building.
It only remains for me to say – Congratulations to all!
This concludes my coverage to the Liverpool Improv Festival 2026. I hope to see you in 2027 for more improv!
