What: Hip.Bang! Improv
Where: Victoria Event Centre, 1415 Broad St.
When: Aug. 26, 28, 29; Sept. 1, 2
Rating: ***1/2
Attending an improvisational comedy show shares at least a few things in common with watching a sword-juggling circus act.
In both cases, the spectre of complete and utter failure keeps the audience wracked with suspense.
Though the two-man improv troupe Hip.Bang! Improv, composed of Vancouver's Devin Mackenzie and Tom Hill, never dropped any figurative daggers during their Friday night show, they came close a couple of times, only adding to the crowd's excitement.
At the beginning of the show, they asked the crowd to shout out a descriptive word. 聯Gargantuan,聰 one man yelled. And the comics went from there, inventing on the spot scene after preposterous scene based upon the shouted suggestion.
Yogic giants, eccentric New York restaurateurs, vengeful sparrows, wannabe escapees from Alcatraz all came up. Each bit was bizarre; some were funnier than others.
What was most impressive is how, closer to the end, Mackenzie and Hill followed their trail of thematic breadcrumbs back through scenes they聮d already imagined, embellishing them as they retraced their steps.
It was a fine trick, but if they really wish to dazzle, they聮d be well advised to add another element of danger into the mix 聴 more audience participation.
