#148 Check out the famous doppelgänger
Pretend. Performance. Planned. Prominent.
8 JANUARY 2025
Hey, team.
Chris Mead here, with the first proper Pretend Post of 2025.
So what have I been up to apart from writing the best review of Nosferatu ever?
Actually, I’ve been doing a lot of work behind the scenes trying to bring The Pretend Company to life. My main aim is to create a space for a slower, richer, more theatrical improv performance - and as you’ll see in Spotlight below - I have a couple of nights planned to make that a more prominent part of the London scene.
Please do come and support me if you’re interested in that kind of work. I’d really appreciate it.
Take care out there!
Rule of three
[Improv] MC Hammersmith
I’ve had the privilege of knowing Will for many years now and I’ve always admired his work as an improviser and teacher. Last year, he embarked on a social media challenge to write a new rap every Monday. This turned into 53 brilliant Mic Drop Mondays but the very last one is truly a marvel to behold.
[TV] Somebody Somewhere
This is such a precious jewel of a show. It’s set in Manhattan, Kansas but filmed in the suburbs of Chicago. It’s actually a semi-autobiographical account of the life of Bridget Everett who plays the lead role of Sam, returning to her home town to care for her sister and renegotiating her life and relationships in the process. It isn’t always an easy watch but it’s incredibly rewarding, funny and uplifting too.
[Game] Wavelength
Have struggled to find a new party game as wonderful as Codenames but I think Wavelength is a strong contender. The player has to get their team to set a dial across a randomly assigned spectrum (like Scary Movie → Comedy) by saying one word. It’s incredibly addictive and beautifully designed.
Spotlight
So The Pretend Company starts in earnest this year and one of my main aims is to create a space in London where people can learn and perform the kind of improv I love the most - beautiful, heartfelt, theatrical improv.
To this end, we have three new offerings this January. All of which I hope to continue throughout the year.
Hoopla x The Pretend Company
I’ve already mentioned this but I’ve put together an incredible cast of improvisers for a set at Hoopla on 18th January. It’ll be myself, Emily Murphy, Jenny Rowe, Stephen Lee, Emily Jane Kerr and Lee Simpson. Hoopla are taking a chance on a new show in a primetime slot, so realistically I have to sell this one out to be offered more. So if you’re around, I could do with the support. PLUS I genuinely think it’s going to be an amazing show.
Pretend Academy & Pretend Night
This is an idea I had and have no clue whether it’s an attractive offer or not. Basically, it’s a two hour workshop (6-8pm) and then a two hour show (8.15-10.15pm) in the same venue. If you buy a ticket to the workshop, you get your ticket to the show included in the price but people can also turn up to the show separately.
Pretend Academy will be improv bootcamp for improvisers who want to get better and not for improvisers who (quite rightly) just want to have a laugh in class. This month we’re looking at logical/ absurd dynamics in scenes.
You can book your ticket here. (class size limited to 12)
Pretend Night will be a showcase for teams doing innovative and profoundly theatrical improv. This first show’s line-up includes Allegory of the Cave, an improvised shadow puppet show which absolutely killed at Improv Fest Ireland this year.
Payment is on the door (cash or card) but you can put yourself on the guest list here.
To make things even more fun, my current venue is a video game motion capture studio that seats around 25 people on beanbags and stools. No bar but BYOB.
Should be an experience all round.
Radio contact
Great picture of Radio, huh? Well WRONG, this isn’t Radio, this is an entirely different dog called Odie who is owned by a Guardian writer. Check out the famous doppelgänger!