Steel City Improv Reviews: Between Us
If there’s one thing that defines modern theatre, it is always eluding definition. Genre, format, structure; theatre is constantly deconstructing and reconstructing the fundamental understanding of what it is. However, in the small, fledgling community that is the British improv scene, we have yet to see this revolution of ideas that can re-define what improv is. Between Us may be part of that revolution.
Watching Between Us is an intimate experience. The audience sit in the upstairs room of The Shakespeare with drinks in hand and good spirits in heart. Everyone seems relaxed. Sometimes, improvisation can be a tense experience for an audience (the idea of being interacted with can be daunting for some) but that sense of anxiety isn’t present in this room. Between Us make their audience feel safe.
Alex Keen and Rachel E. Thorn, the creators of and only two performers in Between Us, take to the stage. They begin by explaining what is about to happen. The two of them will take some suggestions from the audience (as improvisers often do) and then show us a story about two people in a relationship. The concept is simple, real and is heaped with potential. I can feel the room fill with anticipation. Suggestions are taken and the show is on its way.
What makes Between Us feel different is how much it seems to bridge the gap between improvisation and other forms of theatre. You really do feel like you are watching a stylised play, written to feel like real human dialogue. The comedy that usually drives improv this time takes a back seat to the relationship and how it develops. The structure is broken up with short, off the cuff soliloquies, which seem to guide audience and performer alike. We explore these characters together. Audience and performer discover things simultaneously. Everything feels real. Real in such a way that no written or devised alternative could ever quite recreate the feeling.
This is what makes Between Us such a rewarding experience: its realness. The performance felt like a slice of life, including every awkward moment, unspoken tension and avoided conflict. You carry the story with you after, as if you’ve invaded someone’s privacy. It’s a feeling that’s utterly unique, and beautiful.
Between Us is a show you won’t soon forget. It’s a beautiful slice of life that carries all the real emotions that comes with that. It’s deliciously unique in style and brutally real emotionally.
Between Us will be performing March 23rd at the King’s Arms in Salford. You can also find them on Facebook at /betweenusimprov.
