Today in One Hour
We’ve all heard of The Ponds Institute, Today in One Hour comes from The Today Institute where it’s hard working scientists Claire Hooper, Xavier Michellides and newest recruit Kerry O’Sullivan are living in the moment and exploring the scientific fundamentals of Today in all it’s Todayness. When I saw it today, it was in the lovely ballroom at The Lithuanian club and we were all handed a questionnaire by Kerry. We were invited to contribute to today’s largely improvised show by supplying our own experiences so far today. This way the performers had ample ideas to be used as a launching pad for their scientific impro games….um…research.
The opening of the show was very much inspired by my favourite comedy TV show to come out of Britain in the last 10 years; ‘Look Around You’ – hunt it down if you can, it tends to turn up in the early hours on pay television. An absurdist parody of late 70s, early 80s science documentaries often shown to high schools students. These guys have given Today in One Hour their own hilarious take on this idea. Interesting scientific paraphernalia littered the stage, such as a microscope, the questionnaires were pegged to a line behind the stage like photos developing and a synthesizer in the corner was played with robotic aplomb by Steve Hearne. This was a great frame to hang the impro show on, but too soon the white PVC labcoats were tossed aside for the Theatresports and I felt it a shame that they didn’t adhere more closely to the science documentary format as they might have. But then I’m a geek.
These are all experienced performers who have worked together before and have given this show a strong structure, using headings relating to their theme and some lovely scripted material. I felt they repeated some of the games once too often and not all of the improvised scenes came off very well, but that’s the gamble with improvised shows. The pay off is the magic found in the inspired moments of comedy that pop up throughout. These were showcased in the final game of the night “Today in one hour”, where they summarised the show in 30 second, 15 seconds and 3 seconds. The ending was a bit confusing with the robotic synthesizer player re-humanising into a lounge singer, but the great thing about a show like this is that it has plenty of scope for the performers to change and experiment with the format and this was opening night. Whatever happens when you see it, these troopers will keep you laughing and and make your today a better one.
Visit the Fringe Website for booking details.