If you’re a fan of the game Cards Against Humanity, ‘Improv Against Humanity‘ is the show is for you. It was a full house at Fancy Hank’s to see the fearless group of improvers take on the unique idea of pairing a card game with an interactive stage performance.
To my disbelief, it wasn’t impossible for 50 plus people to all play together. The team stage team fed off of each others energy and were just the right mix of personalities and humour to master the challenge. Every member of the audience was passed a hand and participated in the direction of the sketch. The open forum made it easy to strike up conversations and meet new people — I couldn’t resist sharing my cards with the person next to me. We cheered for the most hilarious and obscure scenarios, one which included a marriage of a woman and a squid. What happened on their honeymoon had me in tears. It involved tentacles and ink…I’ll leave the rest up to your imagination.
You have to be a quick clever thinker to be this type of talent. The courage it takes to master a non-contrived authentic production like this is what makes improv such an enjoyable and sometimes cringeworthy experience. Climb on up the stairs to the lively and vibrant Fancy Hanks, have a pint of local beer, a Philly cheese steak and admire the framed images of Tupac and Kramer before the show. (Pssst, Fancy Hank’s is opening a new restaurant at 79 Bourke Street, so if you find yourself in the CBD, check it out.)
With every night bringing something new to the table, you’ll never get the same experience twice at ‘Improv Against Humanity’.
– Leah
Leah Sparks is a friendly Canadian girl living in Melbourne. Other than her love for maple syrup, she digs the outdoors, live gigs, beer, the 70s and cruising around town with her Siberian Husky.
‘Improv Against Humanity’ runs 21 September to 2 October, 9.15pm (55mins) at Fancy Hank’s BBQ. Buy tickets now.
For more Melbourne Fringe 2016, check out our guide and all our reviews.
