Fun Improv in a Full House
A load of fun in a full house for the Honest Liars improv show night in August.
A crisp, clear winter’s night and the expectation of a full house had the players motivated and ready to play. By the time they got to the 16th Ave Theatre and began their warm-ups, the laughter was already rebounding around the walls.
The show kicked off with the classic high-energy game Objections, and the crowd came in hot with the suggestion “Marmite.” Things got gloriously absurd as the players argued passionately over the merits and crimes of the sticky black spread, even dragging poor Paddington Bear and his marmalade sandwich into the chaos. With debate points ranging from culinary betrayal to national identity, it was safe to say the night was off to a roaring start.
Then came The Good, The Bad & The Ugly — improv’s dodgy advice column brought to life. An audience member bravely asked, “How do I talk to my doctor?” The answers ranged from sensible to questionable to completely unhinged. One player gave a perfectly rational suggestion, another implied that intimidation would work, and the third… well, let’s just say it involved sleeping with all medical practitioners. As always, it was the honest absurdity that stole the show.
Next up was Director’s Cut, where three travelling singers went on a genre-hopping road trip like no other. What started as a squabbling drama swiftly galloped into a western, complete with yee-haws and dodgy mules, before swerving dramatically into an 1980s-style adult film — where the girls were trying to find the pizza boy, and giving exaggerated winks to the audience. The audience howled as the players took each new twist in stride, showing off not just their comic timing but their impressive genre agility.
In The Clap Game, three teams of two players were each given a setting: New York, Covid, and Horror. The twist? Every team had to steal the last line of the previous scene and use it to begin theirs: cue overlapping chaos, clever callbacks, and a whole lot of verbal ping-pong. Highlights included an orange-faced Trump wannabe in Times Square, a dead grandma who could have died from COVID even though she had cancer, diabetes and every other disease at the time. The ‘horror’ was a couple enjoying role-playing to spice up their marriage. The final repeated line — “That was freakin’ awful!” — was the perfect punchline to wrap it all up.
You can see the whole game on our YouTube Channel: The Clap Game
Finally, the night closed with a crowd favourite: The Twitch. The premise? Each improviser was interviewed for a job (in this case, as a ventriloquist), coming to the interview with a specific twitch, both physical and verbal, which the interviewer had to replicate. The result was a gloriously unhinged mashup of puppetry, spasms, and accidental slapstick. The interviewer barely held it together — and had the whole theatre in stitches.
Here’s a snippet of the last three interviewees—the twitches were in full swing by this time.
With every seat filled and every scene more unpredictable than the last, this was a night to remember. The cast brought their A-game, fuelled by the buzz of a full house and a cracking audience. From Marmite debates to cowboy singers to twitchy ventriloquists, the Honest Liars once again proved that nothing beats the magic of live improv.
Fun Improv in a Full House? Absolutely.
If you missed it, don’t worry. There’ll be more. And if you were there? Thanks for bringing the laughter. See you next time.
Thanks to players
| Kathy & MC Steve Kelly Sue |
Gala Mark Ryan |
Thanks to
Admin: Fee and Sharon
Sound engineer: Anthony.
Book your tickets for the next show and join the players for loads of laughs.
1st Saturday of every month.
16th Ave Theatre.
16th Avenue, Tauranga.
Show Starts: 7.30 p.m.
Licenced bar available.
