The late, great Ken Campbell started the London Improvathons. He had seen the improvised comedy soap-opera show Die-Nasty in Edmonton, Canada and was so impressed that he asked them to come to the UK and show us how to do it. We started in 2005 with 36-hour show, then in 2008 Adam Meggido and Extempore Theatre took over as producer – we did our first 50-hour show and it’s been going from strength to strength ever since.
Here are the settings and venues for all the London Improvathons since the start:
2005
Venue: The Inn on the Green
The first experimental 36-hour Improvathon brought together by Ken Campbell at the the Inn on the Green in Ladbroke Grove.
Then the Sticking Place (later Extempore Theatre) led by Adam Meggido, developed it significantly into the 50-hour show that it has been since.
2008 – Casino Oui Oui
Setting: A Casino in Monaco in the 1960s
Venue: The People Show Studios in Bethnal Green
2009 – Pack Up Your Troubles
Setting: A village in Kent during in 1944
Venue: The People Show Studios in Bethnal Green
2010 – We Are Not Amused
Setting: London in the Victorian era
Venue: Hoxton Hall
2011 – Studio 50
Setting: New York night club Studio 50 in the 1970s
Venue: Hoxton Hall
2012 – Tales from the Greek Games
Setting: Ancient Greece
Venue: Hoxton Hall
2013 – Cairo
Setting: Cairo 1926
Venue: Hoxton Hall
2014 – The Starship Xanadu
Setting: The Starship Xanadu, a pleasure cruiser in space
Venue: The Park Theatre
2015 – Tinseltown
Setting: Sleepless Studios, A B-movie production house in Hollywood’s Golden Age
Venue: The Lost Theatre, Stockwell
2016 – The Orient Express
Setting: The Orient Express
Venue: The Stockwell Playhouse (used to be called The Lost Theatre)
2017 – Lord of Thrones
Setting: A world of medieval fantasy
Venue: Wilton’s Music Hall
2018 – Strictly Not Dancing
Setting: A dance competition, 1980s Blackpool
Venue: Stockwell Playhouse
2019 – The Good, The Bad and the Fifty
Setting: The Wild West
Venue: Wilton’s Music Hall
2024 – The Wedding Party
Setting: Everafter Manor, a famous wedding venue
Venue: Wilton’s Music Hall
2025 – Because We Can Can-Can
