Thrown up on stage in front of a live audience, given no material and asked to be funny’sounds a bit daunting doesn’t it?

Well, the guys and girls from Late Night Impro thought it was a good idea and produced a show that has become a comedy festival favourite over the past eleven years.

The show starts with an idea shouted from the audience, and then we are treated to an evening of quick-witted and, at times, hilarious improvisation.

The cast use a number of dramatic games to help shape the evening and keep a consistent flow of new ideas and even crazier situations. Scenes are frozen and actors moved around and given a new theme. The language is changed in the middle of sentences. Spontaneous songs are performed and character roles are swapped between actors at random points.

There are moments when the action lulls, but the beauty of this show is that the audience feels part of the creation process. You can forgive moments of indecisiveness when performers have to change to Finnish speaking bomb experts in the middle of a song about siamese twins for instance. Quite often, these moments are amusing in themselves.

The vulnerability of the performers and vigour with which they approach this night make it obvious why this show has become a comedy festival staple.