#192 Bounce, little tyre, bounce
Intergalactic. Intellectual. Interminable. Intensive.
REMEMBER, REMEMBER THE 5 NOVEMBER 2025
Hello.
It’s Chris Mead here.
Doing more improv than is strictly necessary.
Hello to all my new subscribers.
Here you’ll find:
THREE recommendations of things that have delighted me.
TWO improv opportunities (including a NEW intensive).
ONE picture of my dog, Radio.
That’s the idea anyway. Life sometimes has other plans.
But hey, IMPROV!
Rule of three
[Book] The Murderbot Diaries
I recommended the Murderbot TV series a few months ago and then EVERYONE told me to read the books because they were even better. Well, I’m here to tell you - that EVERYONE was correct. You couldn’t ask for a more compelling narrator than Murderbot, the half-human, half-robot construct with a surly demeanour and a heart of gold. Each volume is a quick read too, so you feel like you are some kind of reading genius as you blast through a new one every few days.
[Game] Bracket City
By far my most popular recommendation over the last few issues was Clues by Sam. People love a clever puzzle. Well welcome to your new obsession because [Bracket City] is as ingenious as it is fun. Solve nested word puzzles, collapse the definition waveform and reveal an interesting fact about any given day in history. Thanks to Nick & Nadine for the recommendation.
[Meditation] A tyre rolling down a sand dune
Sometimes life gets too much. On days like this, I watch a tyre roll down a sand dune for three minutes. Love that we live in a world where we can bring so much technical prowess to bear on such an ultimately stupid endeavour. Bounce, little tyre, bounce.
Spotlight
You have but THREE DAYS to apply for The Pretend Company’s 24 week Improv Actor Training 2026. All the details are here.
But flatteringly, we’ve also had a lot of people contact us from other places in the UK (and from other countries) to ask how they might access Pretend training too.
Well, we have some good news on that front, we are pleased to announce an intensive version of our flagship training.
Five days.
Twenty five hours of teaching.
A chance to work with all three Pretend directors.
Learn our core curriculum with a focussed cohort of fellow improvisers.
26th-30th January 2026
Theatre Deli, City of London
We’ve put together an overview and an application pack here.
Deadline for application is Friday 21st November 2025.
As always, you can reply to this email if you have questions or want to chat through the possibilities.
Radio contact
A king-sized bed for a King Charles Cavalier.