There are a few more days left of Liverpool Fringe Festival, and there is nothing that I love more than an improv show. Lucky for me Studio Beyond thinks so too, and improv company Too Many Stairs Improv took the stage in their third and biggest production yet – Three’s A Crowd.
For those of you who have never been to an improv show, the idea is that the performers (or players as they are called in the improv world), take to the stage and improvise a show usually using suggestions from the audience, or in some cases a director or fellow players. This evening’s show was short-form improv which involves short scenes which lends itself to comedy.
Tonight’s improv players are Alex Westwood, Isabel Harland, and Codie Wright, and this evening they played improv games with their audience which is always fun for both the audience and players. Just to give you a flavour of what is on offer, the ‘Shift Left’ game consisted of three subjects that were rotated by…you’ve guessed it – shifting left! My particular favourite was the oil rig segment when new rigger Penelope finds that her mentor has only been working there for two days herself, and Penelope’s idea of oil is olive, baby or crude (is that rude?).
Another improv game was the Alphabet Theme, and the interesting profession used was a stuntwoman. The idea of this game is that the players begin with a particular letter of the alphabet and they bounce between each other moving through the alphabet as they create a story, it felt that this was not as successful as the shift left game, it felt a little scrappy. A little more risk taken with the opening words chosen would make this section more entertaining.
Inviting guests to the stage proved to be successful, during the game Improv Pillars, each player had an audience partner and when the guest was tapped on the shoulder they produced a suggestion for the conversation. This did feel risky, as if I were called upon, I may not be able to produce a stream of suggestions as I am notoriously bad at this, so risk equals entertainment due to the higher stakes involved. During this segment the players seemed confident, and this confidence came through more successfully than the alphabet game.
Overall, this is a company that is at the beginning of its journey, and the players work well together. Having watched many improv shows it would be nice to see them grow into being more inventive with their themes for the show, but they have a natural rapport with the audience and have clearly worked on their skills. To grow as an improv troupe, I think they will need to find a hook that draws people to them, we see Showstopper!, The School of Night, Shake It Up!, Crime Scene Improvisation, these companies offer something slightly different.
I enjoyed the performance, and I look forward to seeing this improv company continue its development.
To follow news of future shows, go to their Instagram site ‘Too Many Stairs Improv’ – https://www.instagram.com/too_many_stairs?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet&psln=ZDNlZDc0MzIxNw==
Reviewer: Caroline Worswick
Reviewed: 13th October 2026
Theatre Muse UK Rating: ***
