The Pun

160 Characters

By Bex Lee ⋅ May 9, 2006 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

The concept behind 160 Characters is highly inventive and fundamentally simple: the audience forwards unusual text messages to a phone number on stage, and the improvisers create funny skits from the incoming texts - sketch SMS, if you will. It’s a great strategy for involving the audience and ensuring the content of the show is diverse and entertaining.

Text messages range from gushy sentimentality (’I am the coral to your ocean, darling.’) to pointless everyday observations (’I'm having a sore boob day.’). It’s an excellent formula for improv, which requires random themes to intersect with random characters in an unscripted narrative. The comedy lies in the absurd storylines that unfold, as well as the cliched and flawed nature of the ‘instant’ characters.

As a long-time fan of improv, I’ve seen enough shows to differentiate between an average performance and an awesome performance. Unfortunately the caliber of this year’s cast fell well short of last year’s, but that said, the audience had no such yardstick and laughed solidly for an hour.

With a rotating cast of eight, 160 Characters includes Monique Dykstra, Joshua Lawson, Brett Wood and Geoff Paine. Keyboard accompaniment is provided by Gep Blake, whose atmospheric music helps to underpin the mood of each sketch. If, like me, you’re tired of ’staged’ spontaneity and would like some genuine improvised comedy, Umbrella Revolution is the place to find it. It’s also a fine place to catch a cold (as I discovered) so rug up now or drug up later.