Improbable is an English theatre company founded in 1996 by

Lee Simpson Lee Simpson is a British actor and comedian best known as a member of the improvisational group The Comedy Store Players. He has appeared in a number of roles, including in the sitcom ''Drop the Dead Donkey'' and the films ''Paper Mask'' and ''N ...

Phelim McDermott Phelim McDermott (born 21 August 1963) is an English actor and stage director. He has directed plays and operas in Britain, Germany, Spain, the United States, and Australia. McDermott was a co-founder of the Improbable theatre in 1996. Career McD ...

Julian Crouch Julian may refer to: People * Julian (emperor) (331–363), Roman emperor from 361 to 363 * Julian (Rome), referring to the Roman gens Julia, with imperial dynasty offshoots * Saint Julian (disambiguation), several Christian saints * Julian (giv ...

(artistic directors) and producer Nick Sweeting. Improbable is funded by Arts Council England in London. According to their statement: "Improbable has grown out of a way of working that means being prepared to create work by the seat of your pants and the skin of your teeth, stepping onstage before you are ready and allowing the audience to have an integral part in the creation of a show." The company "took theatre-making in new directions with a mix of puppetry, improvisation, comedy and storytelling, transforming the unlikeliest of material into striking, idiosyncratic entertainment." As well as producing shows, Improbable has been developing a more direct approach to tackling complex social and cultural issues through hosting and facilitating Open Space events which so far have occurred around the UK and in Bulgaria, Romania, Israel, Canada, USA, Serbia and Brazil. The reviewer for ''

The Lantern ''The Lantern'' is an independent daily newspaper in Columbus, Ohio, by students at Ohio State University. It is one of the largest campus newspapers in the United States, reaching a circulation of 15,000. Copies of the paper are free and avail ...

'' wrote of the Improbable theatre's first production, ''70 Hill Lane'': "Improbable Theatre's production of ''70 Hill Lane'' which opens at the Wexner Center tonight ... will shatter that stereotype. For once experimental theater has the potential to be something fun ... Phelim McDermott is one of the masterminds behind this performance ... ''70 Hill Lane'' is impromptu with the actors making up lines and using props as they go along. The audience becomes involved, and there's a lot of humor. That's the way McDermott, and other co-founders, Lee Simpson and Julian Crouch, all from London, wanted it ... From London, the play has traveled to Cairo, Belgium, San Diego and New York gathering rave reviews." Julian Crouch and Phelim McDermott directed and designed the new musical ''

The Addams Family ''The Addams Family'' is a fictional family created by American cartoonist Charles Addams. They originally appeared in a series of 150 unrelated single-panel cartoons, about half of which were originally published in ''The New Yorker'' over ...

'', which had tryouts in November 2009 in Chicago and opened on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in April 2010.

Productions

The theatre company has produced: ''70 Hill Lane'' (1996), ''Animo'', ''Lifegame'' (1998 & 2000), ''Cinderella'', ''Coma'' (1999), ''Spirit'', ''Sticky'', ''The Hanging Man'', ''Theatre Of Blood'', ''Stars Are Out Tonight'', ''

The Wolves in the Walls ''The Wolves in the Walls'' is a book by Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean, published in 2003, in the United States by HarperCollins, and in the United Kingdom by Bloomsbury. The book was highly praised on release, winning three awards for that y ...

'', '' Satyagraha'' and ''Panic''. ''Panic'' is a co-production with the

Barbican Center The Barbican Centre is a performing arts centre in the Barbican Estate of the City of London and the largest of its kind in Europe. The centre hosts classical and contemporary music concerts, theatre performances, film screenings and art exhi ...

, London, and the

Wexner Center for the Arts The Wexner Center for the Arts is the Ohio State University's "multidisciplinary, international laboratory for the exploration and advancement of contemporary art". The Wexner Center opened in November 1989, named in honor of the father of Limite ...

, Columbus, Ohio, and the Sydney Opera House. Its world premiere was at the Wexner Center on 4 March 2009. It then opened in England on 19 March 2009 at the

Corn Exchange, Newbury The Corn Exchange is an events and concert venue located in the Market Place in Newbury, Berkshire, England. The structure, which was commissioned as a corn exchange and is now used as an events venue, is a Grade II listed building. History T ...

, before fulfilling a UK Tour which ended in a five-week run at The Barbican, London.''Panic'' production summary
openspaceworld.com

References

External links

The Improbable company's official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Improbable Theatre Theatre companies in the United Kingdom