Durham Improvised Musical: Improv all the way – Review

I had already been treated to a fairly appalling hour of ‘improvised comedy’ before I saw DIM at the Assembly Rooms and therefore it would be fair to say that while Shellshock almost ruined my night, DIM almost made it. ‘Improv all the Way’ was really quite impressive.

That’s not to say that it was perfect by any means and I’d like to get my criticisms out of the way before dishing out some well-deserved praise. For many of the troupe either the acting or the singing side of their roles was a little weak. For one aspect or the other to be stronger is understandable and acceptable but personally I felt that some of the cast did not quite get to the base minimum of either acting or singing and those weaknesses were noticeable. Furthermore almost all the cast did flounder at some point during the show and it was only due to the incredibly agile wit and imagination of Joe Leather that certain moments did not descend into awkwardness. But naming names would be unnecessary for what was otherwise a high paced and exciting show.

Onto the praise, and there is much! The energy, commitment and imagination of the cast really took my breath away at certain moments. A song titled ‘I love you for financial reasons’ which the brilliant Leather backed with ‘I’m not saying she’s a gold digger’ was one of the (many) highlights. Guy Hughes and Joe Leather bounced off each other beautifully as outrageously camp reindeer and Sarah Peters and Maxwell Spence concocted several impressive scenes as goblins…The Pianist Seth Mialls also deserves a mention, to my ears he hardly played a wrong note all night and remained in tune with the rest of the cast at all times.

I think what I was most impressed by in this show was the speed and ease at which ideas formed and then blossomed and, furthermore, just how tight knit the group were. Most of the time I felt completely relaxed watching them which, this must be emphasised, is incredible considering the fact that the show is improvised. Yes, there were a few wobbly moments (Peters managed to deliver an entire speech on the need for a ‘plan’) but they were far outweighed by the brilliant ones.

I look over at the clock, see 2:30am and wonder, is there anything else I can say about this show? Perhaps one last thing. Although the entire cast were impressive, Joe Leather stood out for me as the best member all round. He rescued the show from its weaker moments and was always at the heart of the most impressive moments.

All in all then, well done DIM!