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Pros: My aching jaw muscles sum it up!
Cons: C3467X’s many participants sometimes made it difficult to see the action. This is witty comedy woven out of thin air that seems as effortless as it is hilarious.
Summary
Rating
Excellent
What can I say – this was a fun, relaxed evening filled with laughter, a good pint and talented performers making up theatre on the spot. The impossibly named C3467X present the improv comedy night Yada Yada K on the last Tuesday of every month in the small, intimate space above the Camden Head, and it’s a great, wallet-friendly (just a fiver!) way to spend an evening. The group consists of eight brilliant improvisers who weave witty and hilarious long-form comedy out of thin air, and who regularly invite other improv groups to join them on stage in their jam sessions, from complete newbies to experienced, internationally acclaimed acts.
As the performance took place in February, the underlying themes were love, relationships, and Valentine’s Day outings. These were explored through brilliantly conjured up snapshots of partners being loved and lost. There was the prude, awkward couple coming to grips with physical boundaries. There was the man whose admiration for his partner was lost when the latter refused to share a coveted German croissant. Being improv, it seems pointless to discuss the storylines; you will just need to trust me that the performance was funny, clever and surprisingly heartfelt and thoughtful. One very small problem was the size and layout of the stage. That, combined with the size of C3467X’s group, meant that the participants sometimes blocked the audience’s view of the action.
C3467X’s jam sessions are also an opportunity for improv newbies from the audience to try their hand at standing on stage and instantly and collaboratively producing dialogue, action, story and characters. My fears of having to endure painfully awkward sessions were quickly dispersed by highly talented audience members, a hugely supportive crowd and watchful hosts. My greatest regret is not having had a go myself, which is why I most certainly will be back.
Tuesday’s line-up continued with the German/ British act Make Shift, who combined historical allusions to the Berlin wall with a Titanic-inspired scene and a whole lot of sexual innuendo. The last group was Ten Thousand Million Love Stories with Jules Munns and Heather Urquhart. Of the three, they were probably my favourite, with their acting and dialogue as sharp as it was natural. That said, all three groups were excellent, and had my jaw muscles aching with laughter by the end.
As well as Yada Yada K, C3467X performs every first Monday of every month at the Dirty Dick pub on Liverpool Street, so you certainly have no excuse not to go. Just grab a pint and get improvising.
Performed by: C3467X, Make Shift, and Ten Thousand Million Love Stories
Yada Yada K in the Camden Head: On the last Tuesday of every month
We are Funny Improv at the Dirty Dick Pub: On the first Monday of every month (free)
Booking for Yada Yada K: http://c3467x.com/
