The Incredible ‘Showstopper! The Improvised Musical’ Has Extended their West End Monthly Residency“Amazing! Absolutely brilliant! Congratulations - The Showstoppers took my 24hr challenge and succeeded 200%!” ELAINE PAIGEOFFICIAL PRESS RELEASENEWS PROVIDED BY Impressive PR The incredible ‘Showstopper! The Improvised Musical’ has extended their monthly residency in the West End at the Cambridge Theatre with new dates on sale on Wednesday 28th February for September – December 2024. Spontaneous musical comedy at its finest, this is the first ever long-form improv show to have a full West End run and to be nominated and win an Olivier Award. For those who haven’t yet experienced the live phenomenon that is ‘Showstopper! The Improvised Musical’, the show is a fully-realised musical created on the spot from audience suggestions. The cast take ideas for settings, genres, musical styles and the show title and weave it into ingenious storylines with hilarious characters. From Lin Manuel Miranda to Stephen Sondheim, whether it’s set in a primary school, Ancient Egypt, or a mattress shop – if the audience thinks it, The Showstoppers can turn it into a hit musical. Most of the cast have also earned acclaim in their own right. Founder member Ruth Bratt is in the famous Comedy Store Players, the longest running impro show in the country; Pippa Evans is a regular on BBC Radio 4 – and is currently on tour with I’m Sorry I Haven’t a Clue; and co-founder Adam Meggido directed the West End and Broadway hit show Peter Pan Goes Wrong. The Showtsoppers also regularly run improvisation workshops and courses for beginners and professionals and create hilarious and insightful interviews with theatre stars in The Showstopper! Podcast. The Showstoppers have performed created more than 1,000 brand new musicals since they were formed in 2008 but they don’t stop working hard at their craft – they have to learn to improvise in the style of every hit show that comes to town and they always encourage audiences to challenge them and keep them on their toes. As a result, they continue fill theatres, delight audiences and win awards. Playbill named them pick of the Fringe in Edinburgh last year and they were the third-highest reviewed show of the entire festival, no mean feat in their 14th year. AboutCAST & CREDITS: Jonathan Ainscough: actor, singer, multi-instrumentalist, director, writer, musical director and arranger. He studied Music at Manchester University, before completing a master’s in performance at the Royal Northern College of Music. He has worked for the Royal Opera House, Welsh National Opera, Opera North, the Royal Exchange Theatre and the West Yorkshire Playhouse, and works for the award-winning charity Streetwise Opera, leading music and drama workshops with people experiencing homelessness. Ruth Bratt is in all three series of BAFTA-winning show People Just Do Nothing (BBC2). She wrote and performed Trodd En Bratt Say Well Done You with Lucy Trodd (BBC Radio 4). She is part of The Comedy Store Players and is part of The Glenda J Collective alongside Josie Lawrence, Cariad Lloyd and Pippa Evans. Credits include Derek (C4), Mongrels (BBC3), and Sarah Millican’s Support Group (BBC Radio 4). ruthbratt.com @ruthbratt Justin Brett has worked recently as Johnny Cash in Million Dollar Quartet (West End) and extensively in theatres across the UK. He also co-runs Duke’s Comedy Club. TV: EastEnders. Peep Show; Pulling; Dombey & Son; The Queen’s Nose; The Bill; London`s Burning; GhoulLashed; Spooky. Film: War Horse; Gulliver’s Travels; The Fallen; Brothers. Matt Cavendish trained at LAMDA. Theatre: Showstopper! (Lyric, West End), The Play That Goes Wrong (Broadway/West End), Peter Pan Goes Wrong (West End and UK Tour), Lights! Camera! Improvise! (Mischief Theatre), Sleeping Beauty (Park Theatre), The Boys From Syracuse (Union), The Borrowers (Erica Whyman), An Intimate Evening with Ruthie Henshall, News Revue. TV: Christmas Carol Goes Wrong (BBC). Dylan Emery (co-creator/director) has performed at the National Theatre, Royal Court, Shakespeare’s Globe, Bristol Old Vic and many times at the Edinburgh Fringe as well as chairing The Showstoppers’ BBC Radio 4 series. He co-founded comedy outfit Grand Theft Impro, is half of Ghost Couple along with Ruth Bratt, is a member of ‘hard-bardics’ troupe The School of Night and runs www.thecrunchyfrogcollective.com, a website dedicated to improvisation in the UK. dylanemery.com @dylanemery Joshua Jackson originally hails from Oakland, California. He has a BA in Music and Theatre at Colgate University, New York and a Master of Arts from the Arts Educational School, London. His professional credits include: A Long Day’s Journey Into Night and The Tempest, both directed by Kelly Hunter; Planet 3 with Bigger Bang Studios; and voice work for Black Mirror and Keep It Real. Ali James has performed in numerous pantomimes and musicals nationwide including Norwich Theatre Royal and QDOS Entertainment and has worked as lead vocalist for P&O at sea. She has created several roles in workshop musicals for Perfect Pitch and enjoyed success at the Edinburgh Festival with her sketch group Giraffe. Sean McCann has improvised at Shakespeare’s Globe (with The School of Night), Royal Court, Soho Theatre, West End and Elsinore Castle Denmark. Also, BBC Radio 3 and 4. He is the veteran of 18 Improvathons (multi-day improv shows without sleep) in London, Bristol, Liverpool, Canada and Ireland, including the Toronto 55 Hour in December 2013 - the world’s longest-ever long-form. As a director, recent work includes collaborations with Instant Broadway (Andre Theatre, Oslo), Blue (for Bugiardini, Rome) and both Singing in the Dark and Shakespeare Inedito (Italy, touring). Adam Meggido (co-creator/director) is director of Olivier-nominated comedies: Peter Pan Goes Wrong (West End, UK tour, Italy, New Zealand, Australia, Canada); Magic Goes Wrong (West End, UK tour); and consultant on Mischief Movie Night (West End and UK tour), and A Christmas Carol Goes Wrong (BBC). He has improvised at Royal National Theatre, Royal Court, Shakespeare’s Globe, BBC TV & radio, with The Society Of Strange, The School Of Night, Ken Campbell, Nina Conti, and Rhapsodes. He is the author of Improv Beyond Rules (Nick Hern Books), is a world record holder in improvisation (55 hours in Toronto, 2013), and creator of the London 50 Hour Improvathon, which has played annually since 2008. Adam’s musical, Burlesque, won Best New Musical at the 2012 Offie Awards. He also wrote lyrics and co-composed the west end musical Tailor Made Man. adammeggido.com @adammeggido Ethan Pascal Peters (he/him) is a British-Caribbean performer, director, and writer from West London. He trained on the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts MA Professional Acting course (2020/21). Credits include: Errol in Errol's Garden (Golden Toad Theatre); Ensemble in Perfect Show for Rachel (Zoo Co Theatre); Laurie in Little Women: The Musical (Dugdale Arts Centre). Philip Pellew has been improvising for over 25 years including in: Theatresports at the Donmar Warehouse, Hamlet Improvised, The Impro Musical, Impropera and festivals around the world, radio and TV. He has UK and West End theatre credits and is a founder member of the David Glass Ensemble, appearing in Popeye, O The Wall, Gormenghast and The Red Thread. For 6 years he was part of the Lost Child Project working with marginalised children around the world. Martha Pothen is a British-Indian actress from Essex. She trained at The Royal Academy of Music and the University of York. Credits include: Snow White and the Happy Ever After Beauty Salon (Salisbury Playhouse), The Visit (National Theatre), Cold Feet and Bacon Sandwiches (Hampstead Theatre) and was OFFIE-nominated for her professional debut performance in Privates on Parade (Union Theatre). Andrew Pugsley trained in musical theatre at Circle in the Square Theatre School, New York. He’s recently been performing internationally with improvised horror show, The Society of Strange, and improv comedy troupe Panthercannon. Other theatre: Game Theory (Tristan Bates); The Mikado (The Tabard); MC for Singalong Oliver! (Royal Festival Hall); Wind in the Willows (Brewhouse Theatre). Voiceover: The Prisoner of Zenda (Naxos Audiobooks). andrewpugsley.com @andrewdpugsley Lauren Shearing trained at LIPA and studied improv in London and Chicago. She is half of double act Breaking & Entering and performs with Austentatious, Mischief Theatre, The Monkey Toast Players and Grand Theft Impro. She has taken part in London 50-hour Improvathons and was part of O The Top, Youtube’s interactive improv show. Joy Tan (they/them) is a Singaporean-Chinese performer and 2021 graduate of Mountview’s MA Musical Theatre programme. Previously seen as Abby/Thomas/Lara (A-Typical Rainbow, Turbine Theatre, 2022), Ensemble (The Crucible, National Theatre, 2022) and Zella (Jungle Rumble, Fortune Theatre, 2022). Credits while training include Small Alison/Joan (Fun Home, 2020), Charity (Sweet Charity, 2020) and Giuseppe Zangara (Assassins, Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, 2019). Lucy Trodd is a writer-performer. In 2012 she made her Edinburgh sketch debut in Trodd en Bratt say Well Done You (now two BBC Radio 4 series/Finalists in the BBC Audio Awards 2015). Screen credits include: Tripped, Fool Britannia, Doctors, Fast & Loose, DickandDom, Attachments. troddenbratt.com @troddenbratt Heather Urquhart trained in physical theatre & studied improvisation at I.O Chicago. She improvises with The Maydays, 10,000 Million Love Stories & has written a book on musical improv. She is winner of the award for best female performer in the Brighton Fringe Festival and a vocalist with Mercury Music Prize nominated Electric Soft Parade. Musical Supervisor: Duncan Walsh Atkins has been musical supervisor for The Showstoppers since 2009. His other improvisation credits include the BBC TV series Fast & Loose and appearances with Mike McShane and Paul Merton. He also coaches musical theatre-based improvisation at classes and workshops around the UK. Key Creative Credits
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February 28, 2024 6:30am ET by Impressive PR |