Showstopper! The Improvised Musical is to get its first full West End run. In the cult impro show audience suggestions are transformed instantly into all-singing, all-dancing shows with unpredictable and hilarious results. It will run at the Apollo, Shaftesbury Avenue, from September 24 to November 29.
Fast, funny and entertaining, the team creates a real musical from scratch, with songs but a full story with characters, a live band of musicians, and choreography. With a BBC Radio Four series and eight years of festivals and touring to their name, The Showstoppers have delighted and astounded audiences around the world with their ingenious, unique blend of comedy, musical theatre and spontaneity.
Highlights from previous shows have included Emotional Baggage (an apt title for a tale of First Class romance at Heathrow Airport, with songs in the style of Sondheim and Abba), Sweeney Cod (in which an ambitious fish and chip shop owner falls victim to unrequited love, with a touch of Kander and Ebb alongside the pineapple fritters), and To Bleed Or Not To Bleed (a high-stakes opera of communist vampires, channelling Mel Brooks and featuring an undead chorus).
Showstopper! was created by Adam Meggido and Dylan Emery. Duncan Walsh Atkins is Musical Director, with design by Simon Scullion, lighting by Tim Mascall and sound by Tom Lishman.
The cast includes Ruth Bratt, Justin Brett, Dylan Emery, Pippa Evans, Susan Harrison, Sean McCann, Adam Meggido, Philip Pellew, Andrew Pugsley, Oliver Senton, Lucy Trodd, and Sarah-Louise Young, with seven cast members appearing per performance plus a live on-stage band.
Producers will be inviting critics to attend the show twice, to fully appreciate the uniqueness of each performance. An additional matinee is being added to facilitate this, although critics will also be welcome to attend selected preview performances under embargo.
Tickets are on sale now here.
