liverpool comedy improvcast

This week we return to our A-Z of Improv series and focus on the Letter B. Friend of the show Dave Hodgson joins our host Iain Luke Jones and they have a lot to discuss! Did your suggestions make the list? There's only one way to find out... There is a lot to pack into this episode, so sit back, relax and enjoy our latest A-Z special.

Happy New Year! It’s been a almost a year since we last had Hannah Carson on the show and we are delighted to welcome her on as the first guest of 2023! During this chat Hannah recaps the amazing year she has had in terms of improv and details how she became a member of the phenomenal ’Broken Chair Improv’. Hannah and Iain discuss a variety of topics from nerves before a show to the differences between long and short form and it’s a really fun and improv centric chat that we can’t wait for you to hear. So sit back and relax as it’s time to find out Hannah’s true story of making stuff up.

Wow! What a year it has been for us on the show. Can you believe we have just reached the end of our second year! We will be taking a short break over the festive period, but Iain is here to take you back on a trip down memory lane, breaking down every episode of the show from the last year. There's loads of great insight and personal reflections and also some tidbits of information about why we are super excitied for what is coming up in 2023. The festive break is a great opportunity for newer listeners to catch up on older episodes, but whatever you are doing over the holiday period, we wish you all positivity, peace and happiness. See you in the new year.

This week we welcome friend of the show Mark Turpin back to the show and he and Iain discuss the topic ‘Comedy Influences’. It’s a fascinating walk down memory lane for those that know the references and it’s a real treasure trove of comedy gold for those of you that don’t know the references to go away and look up online. Improv doesn’t need to be funny, but when it is the comedy comes from a lifetime of influences. So sit back, relax and hear Mark and Iain break down all things comedy influences.

This week we are delighted to welcome the fantastic Vera Chok to the show. Vera is currently starring as Honour Chen-Williams in Hollyoaks, but when she isn’t filming for the show you will often find her involved in improv in some way, shape or form. During this very varied chat Iain and Vera cover all sorts of topics from culture to comedy, and there’s even an unexpected discovery of a mutual love of Australian soap ’Home & Away’! Vera started out as an actor who didn’t think much of improv, but find out what happened to change that opinion and how it ended up becoming a true passion. It’s time to sit back, relax and find out Vera’s true story of making stuff up.

Andêl Sudik is a fantastically talented improviser who recently taught a sketch comedy course at LCI. During this chat we hear all about how she discovered improv at the age of 15 and how she has never looked back since. Improv is very much her life & you can hear the passion in her voice as she talks about her improv journey. She is a well travelled person and has improvised in many countries around the world, but how easy is it to cope with all of those accents? There’s so many fascinating tidbits of information that you can add to your improv tool belt and we know you are going to love this episode! So sit back, relax and enjoy Andêl’s true story about making stuff up.

Jake is an up and coming improviser who has already amassed a huge amount of experience. He started out life with a huge passion for acting, but once he discovered improv he really feels like he stepped up his acting game to the next level. During this chat we discover what life is like as a student at LIPA and we hear how Jake ultimately found his way to Liverpool Comedy Improv. It’s another fascinating chat full of fun and insightful tidbits and we can’t wait for you to hear it! So sit back, relax and enjoy Jake’s true story of making stuff up.

This week is a bumper episode, chocked full of tangents! Melina Fiol is back to update us on her experiences as a female on the comedy circuit and she has so much insight to share that will leave you all with much food for thought. Iain starts the show off by remembering HRH Queen Elizabeth II as the sad news of her passing was announced just before the episode was recorded. He once had the honour of going to Buckingham Palace & it didn’t exactly go smoothly… Melina is living her dream on the comedy circuit, but not everything is as dreamy as she had hoped. Find out all about it in this very open and honest chat. It’s time to sit back, relax and find out all about Melina’s true story of making people laugh.

This week we celebrate episode 70 with our host Iain Luke Jones giving us all an update on some fantastic developments in his personal and improv life. There was a guest lined up, but it sadly fell through at the last minute, but this being an improv podcast meant that the show was able to go on regardless, just with a little change of direction. Celebrating 70 episodes alone is reason enough for a check in with Iain, but with the fantastic news he has to share it certainly deserved the time for his story to be told. Thank you all for your continued support of the show! We really appreciate each and every single one of you. Now it's time to sit back, relax and discover the true power of embracing a 'Yes And' mentality.

This week we have something a little different for you. We love talking to improvisoers about their improv journeys and about a whole variety of improv related topics, but we are also keen to discuss other passions that improvisers may have. Our host Iain has mentioned in many of the show chats over the years that he is a big fan of the Aussie TV soap 'neighbours' and as it happens so are previous show guests San George and Kat Cooke. On 29th July 2022 Channel 5 aired the final ever episode of Neighbours in the UK and this was a very sad day indeed for Neighbours fans all over the world. Iain, San and Kat decided to get together and talk about the show that they have loved all of their lives and how genuinly upset they all are now that it has come to an end. It is definitley a little something different, but there are still some links to improv that will shed light on a few things in terms of how Iain's improv brain works. Think about something you absolutely adore and then think about how you would feel if somebody took it away from you. That is how Iain, San and Kat feel & they want to share their feelings with you all. So sit back, relax and enjoy discovering the true story of how everybody really does need good Neighbours.

This week we welcome Charly Murgatroyd to the show and we can’t wait for you to hear what she has to say! Charly only started improvising in October 2021, but if you saw her perform you would swear she has been doing it her whole life. In this chat Iain and Charly very quickly get into the topic of ADHD and from there the chat just explodes into all sorts of interesting avenues that really makes you appreciate the wonderful people of the improv community. This is one of those chat that leaves you with plenty of food for thought and we can’t wait for you to hear it. So sit back, relax and enjoy discovering Charley’s true story about making stuff up.

This week we are super excited to welcome Michael Ananins back to the show! Michael first appears on the show back in episode 3 and a lot has happened since then. Michael has recently given stand up comedy a go and he and Iain have a great chat breaking down the art of stand up. There is of course loads of great improv chat and Michael has many incredible stories to tell, and one story in particular that involves him meeting Bob Geldof! It’s a really great chat that we can’t wait for you to hear! So sit back, relax and enjoy more of Michael’s true story about making stuff up.

Heather is a relatively new improviser, but if you saw her perform you would never know it! She has such a natural flare for it and to top it off she is a genuinely lovely person. During this chat Iain and Heather talk through her journey to improv and find out exactly how it came about that a physicist with barely any experience in performing arts came to discover a passion for improv. We also discover that Heather and Iain share many geeky interests and we delve into some Star Wars chat and discover how Heather ended up meeting actual Luke Skywalker himself, Mark Hamill! It’s a really fun chat that we know you will love, so sit back, relax and enjoy Heather’s true story about making stuff up.

Tom is a drama student with a real passion for improv & he is at a very exciting stage of his life where there are so many possibilities ahead of him. During the conversation we get to hear about Tom's improv journey into improv and into LCI & we learn how LCI has helped him to expand his improv horizons. During this chat Tom mentions that he thinks Colin Mochrie is 72. Iain just accepted this at the time, but felt it was not quite accurate. Research was conducted and it seems the age estimation was indeed a tad high. Colin is a spritely 64 (at the time of recording). It's an informative chat that is full of fun little tidbits and we can't wait for you to hear it! So sit back, relax and enjoy Tom's true story of making stuff up.

We are super excited to finally welcome Stu Hughes to the show! Stu is a fantastic improviser and an even better human being and we know you are going to love this chat with him. Among the many things covered, Stu and Iain talk about how improv helps with confidence issues and how improv can genuinely help to change your life. They delve into the topic of short form vs long form and there’s also lots of fun chat about writing sketch comedy, the Oickers members of the LCI community and how Stu discovered improv and specifically LCI in the first place. They also both discover a mutual love of co-operative board games! It’s a really great chat that we are excited to share with you. So sit back, relax and enjoy Stu’s story about making stuff up.

Jamie is an incredibly creative individual who has recently discovered and fallen in love with improv. He is a very open individual and he gives us a great insight into his life journey that led him to LCI. He is a wonderful artist and he and Iain get into a great chat about what makes art successful and is it really worth what some people pay for it? It’s another fascinating chat with one of the newer members of the LCI community and we can’t wait for you to hear it! So sit back, relax and enjoy Jamie’s true story about making stuff up.

This week we welcome back friend of the show Sekki Tabasuares to discuss the topic 'Planning an Improv session' with our host Iain Luke Jones. There are lots of things to take into consideration when running an improv session and Iain and Sekki talk in depth about the thought process leading into preparing an improv session. It is a really great chat as always and we can't wait for you to hear it!

This week we are focusing on the topic 'Boundaries in Improv' and we welcome friend of the show 'San George' back to the podcast to discuss the topic with Iain. What are boundaries in improv? Why is it important that this topic is discussed? These are a couple of the point touched on and there is a lot of great personal insight and anecdotes from both Iain and San along the way. This is a really sensitive and important topic that we felt needed to be given the spotlight and we hope you enjoy the conversation.

On April 29th LCI has another awesome live improv show coming your way! 'Boss Birds & Friends' is back and this time the guest teams are 'Cats in Trenchcoats' (who are an LCI long form team) & 'Regular Job'. Our guest this week is Al Donohoe from 'Regular Job' & he is here to tell you all about who 'Regular Job' are and what to expect from them. Al has got a fascinating story to tell and in this chat you will hear all about his acting career taking off when he was a teenager, his discovery of improv & how his love of the UCB improv style inspired him to set uo 'The Atom Improv'. Al lives and breathes improv and we know you are going to love hearing his true story of making stuff up.

This week we are bringing you another live special! This time around we are putting the spotlight on the fantastic Boss Birds. Boss Birds are an all female team who formed at LCI and they are an incredibly talented bunch who are masters of their craft. Boss Birds and Friends is a monthly show that LCI puts on and the show featured today was recorded at the end of January 2022 at the very first Boss Birds and Friends gig. A few weeks ago we brought you the set from the Oickers that night and now we are super excited to bring you this set from the Boss Birds. To keep the show PG there is the odd word that has been editied out, but we know you can probably fill in the blanks ;) This show was recorded on a phone so is not studio quality, but it is still good enough to give you a great feel for what it was like to be there in the audience on the night.