The first Greater Manchester Improv Festival will take place at the Kings Arms in Salford 6–8 June 2025 featuring sixteen shows and four workshops, including a taster session for anyone wishing to try their hand at impro.
ComedySportz will present "family friendly competitive comedy", while Murder Inc. will bring crime comedy, Shakespeare On The Spot will present exactly what its name suggests and there will be "musical mayhem" with The Totally Improvised Musical and Musical Improv Galactic Deathmatch. Traditional impro quick fire gags and games will be provided by My That Improv, The Yoga Goats, The Communimps and all-female Ladies Who Improv.
Bolton’s neurodiversity charity Headspace is bringing It Will Do You Good, while The Things You Love and Skunkhaus will take inspiration from audience’s real-life stories and Absolute Onions will be "revealing the true story behind a karaoke classic." TV-themed comedy comes courtesy of Improv on Demand, Dungeons and Dragons inspired antics will come from Dark Peak Adventure Club and Drunk Classics will present "a chaotic take on a literary favourite": The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Festival organiser Bron Edge, who also runs the award-winning Totally Improvised Company, said, "we have everything from improvised murder mysteries to musicals, showcasing new teams and seasoned festival acts. The Manchester improv scene has exploded in the last few years so we decided it was time to bring together as many acts as we could fit into a weekend stuffed full of talented teams."
Tickets for all events are £5, available from The Kings Arms web site.