#151 We do have beanbags
Tasks. Laughs. Improv. Improv.
29 JANUARY 2025
Morning.
I’ve written too much below so I’m balancing it out by writing very little here.
Rule of three
[Experience] Taskmaster: The Live Experience
So through a series of mishaps too stupid and also too boring to relate, I’ve ended up with £650 credit for the Taskmaster Live experience. All you need to know about it is that a) it’s my actual money, transmogrified into a form I can’t spend and b) that on 23rd February 2025, it’ll wink out of existence and I’ll just lose it.
I’ve already done both Taskmaster Live experiences. The good news is that it was AMAZING. A genuinely spot-on recreation of the TV show with a really smart use of technology and live theatre elements throughout.
And this is your lucky day, dear reader who lives in or near London, I’ve thought of a way that you get a good deal and I get some of my money back.
1. Go to the Taskmaster Live site
2. Pick a day and time you can do
3. Tell me (by replying to this email) and I’ll buy it for you using my credit
5. You can give me however much towards it you want - even a small contribution is fine, the money will be wasted otherwise
6. Hopefully everyone is happy
That’s it really - I guess my only other thought is try to use the £50 slots so I can make the best use of the money I have left. Hooray! Being a subscriber to this newsletter has finally paid off.
[Comic] Cyanide & Happiness
I don’t really like offensive humour. I find it lazy, derivative and boring. I think the world needs to move on from needlessly divisive “comedy” created by a monoculture of (mostly) white, male creators. Having said all that (and genuinely meaning it) I always laugh until I cry at this horribly offensive, awful comic created by three white men. I guess I contain multitudes.
[Podcast] Get Played
I try to get away from improv now and then and indulge other passions. I’ve always loved computer games and so this funny, irreverent podcast about the subject has always delighted me. Last week, I realised that one of the hosts, Heather Anne Campbell, was the Heather Anne Campbell who won the UCB Cagematch in LA so many times (and with two separate duos) that she had to play against herself in the championships. So in some ways I’m quite consistent …
Spotlight
The first ever Pretend Night happens tonight (if you’re reading this the day I send it) 29th January 2025. It’s a new indie night I’ve created to showcase the very best theatrical improv in the capital (and beyond).
Pretend Night is:
Exclusive - there’s only room for about 25 people in the playing space
Eccentric - we currently don’t have chairs and we’re not sure the lighting rig is working properly - we DO have beanbags
Eclectic - showcasing new duos and teams doing something interesting with the art form - there will be shadow puppets
Please come along, you can only attend a first night once, and that night is tonight.
Sign up for the guest list here (so we know you’re coming) and pay £10 on the door.
Longform thoughts
One star means that you should go to the restaurant if you happen to be in their city.
Two stars mean that you should go to that restaurant if you happen to be in their country.
And three stars mean you should travel internationally to enjoy the wonders of their menu.
What if restaurants were improv practitioners? Who would be my Michelin-starred teachers?
Radio contact
Ruff!