I had high expectations for Hard Truths, as I had previously seen a show by UoN Improv Society and thoroughly enjoyed it, and I was not disappointed. UoN Improv Society do what the name suggests – create an entirely improvised performance on the spot – no pressure! There were eight performers, some faces I recognised from the last performance and some new ones.
Before the audience sat down for the show, we were asked to write a question, which could be as deep or as silly as we wanted. The performers picked one out randomly from a hat, and this question formed the basis of the whole performance. The one that got picked was something along the lines of: ‘If you have done something bad, can things go back to how they were before, how you were before?’
“A good aspect of the performance was that there was audience interaction”
To start the show, there were interviews in which one of the members asked other members of the performance this question. A good aspect of the performance was that there was audience interaction; out of two performers, whoever received the loudest applause from the audience would be the one to interview others. During these interviews, we heard some funny anecdotes involving ‘bad’ things that they had done, or that people they knew did. These include someone threatening a classmate with scissors (although she emphasised that she was not actually being serious), and someone being lied to by their dad about having a black box in their car. I couldn’t tell if these were real stories or made up, but either way it didn’t matter.
“A hilarious performance”
The rest of the show was based on these anecdotes, providing a hilarious performance. This involved young children bringing in sharp scissors and other weapons to school, and a Prime Minster who lied about putting black boxes in people’s brains to reduce crime. It was an extremely funny performance, leaving the audience constantly laughing. There was a lot of dark humour, such as a woman planning to kill her husband, so she could sell his organs.
“I was as impressed as I was last time at their ability to create such an entertaining performance on the spot”
Overall, it was an amazing performance and I was as impressed as I was last time at their ability to create such an entertaining performance on the spot. They must also be praised for taking on so many roles, and these were all equally good. It is a great idea for the shows to be on over several nights, as each performance will be different, so you could see more than one.
8/10
Emily Patel
Featured image courtesy of UoN Improv Society via Facebook.
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