I have a confession: before last Friday, I had never seen a Maydays show. I know, it’s terrible. The Maydays are improv legends, spoken of in hushed tones in improv circles across the UK, responsible, Prometheus-like, for bringing the fire of improv to Brighton and for encouraging it into the healthy blaze it is today with their And Also classes and courses. Their members perform with Impromptu Shakespeare and Showstoppers. At the start of last weekend, I finally made it down to their Komedia residency and had a thoroughly delightful time.
The premise of Maydays: Confessions is that the audience write down confessions before the show, which in the first half of the show are pulled out of a container at random on stage to inspire scenes. The second half features a long-form story based on one singular confession, either chosen from the hat/vase/tub or offered orally by an audience member. It’s a simple and excellent idea which puts the whole room in a giggly mood from the off. People are absurd, and my gosh, people had had some strange experiences.
The five-strong cast leaned into the absurdity deliciously, chasing silliness, latching onto interesting flavours as they arose, and committing fully to the most ludicrous positions. As a result the show was positively fizzing with satisfying surprises, and frequently side-splittingly hilarious. Although not explicitly a musical improv show, the players are all experienced musical improvisers and songs cropped up frequently, with scenes otherwise underscored by the excellent pianist. Highlights of the first half included a growly rock number depicting a man’s butthole being shaved by his partner and her parents, and a scene in the 1930s involving a woman visiting a gynaecologist to cure her lack of interest in sex.
It was in the long-form in the second half that the company really shone – in a story hinging on a mix up between an attractive and less attractive Phil Vickery, and a talent agent for celebrities who have the same name as each other. The magic of a well-woven improvised comedy narrative is that something emotionally satisfying and even moving can emerge from absolute ridiculousness. And that’s exactly what the Maydays achieved – a masterful conjuring of gleeful, pants-wettingly funny silliness in a gratifyingly coherent story.
The next Maydays: Confessions is at Komedia on November 7. Whether or not you’ve seen improv before, I recommend spending an evening in the company of these local legends – it’s a true joy.
Address: 44-47 Gardner St, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN1 1UN
Tickets: Komedia
Read more: Things To Do In Brighton This October | Things To Do In Brighton In November
