Hoopla
The UK’s improv OG, Hoopla go hard on the teaching but don’t skimp on the shows. Classes take place across the capital, but performances keep to the Miller pub in Borough. Find Hoopla there most nights there with an ever-changing roster of games, plays, musicals and more, all made up on the spot. A judgment-free zone for those wanting to jump in.
Across the week, The Miller, 96 Snowsfields Road, SE1, hooplaimpro.com
Duck Duck Goose
Head east for this weekly session, where come 8pm the upstairs of the Bell is taken over by improv sorts who first take to the stage in a two-hander, before building up group montages. This is very much an improvisational jam — woodshedding for comics — and so shows are loose and lively, frequently utterly silly, and largely made up of nonsense. Just as it should be. Shows are ticketed but free, courtesy of DDG’s mailing list, and those going can watch or join in as desired. Be brave.
Every Monday, The Bell, 50 Middlesex Street, E1, ddgimprov.com
The Free Association
The Free Association has it all: punning name, countless live shows, instructive classes and merch galore. The FA’s regular Saturday jam is a good place to start, where old hands and new faces have a giggle alongside each other, while the Sunday jacuzii (sic) sessions tend to draw the big names (Nish Kumar, Rachel Parris et al), all delivering a monologue riffing on one word. Tenth anniversary shows run October 14-20.
