I had the pleasure last night of playing Catch 23 (UK) with old friends Stephen Sim and Allen Morrison, two excellent humans and fantastic Canadian improvisers who were in London at the same time for different reasons, and unbeknownst to one another. Allen was my first friend when I started at UBC in Vancouver from Summerland BC many years ago. Some years later, after he had become a classically trained actor, (and I a university dropout) Brad MacNeil and I bullied him back into doing improv. He is now a regular at VTSL. And still an awesome guy. Steve Sim is also an awesome guy, and one half of legendary improv duo CRUMBS, and spends the better part of his year touring continental Europe, sharing prairie improv magic. they both got in touch with me individually to let me know they were coming to town. As it happens, I managed to get in touch with the elusive Professor Stevphen Doctors and request some slots for us fellow Canadians in the November 30th show. He saw to it. So last night the three of us shared the same stage for the first time as the Catch 23 team Fun Police. But instead of clamping down on fun, we enforced it. It was great to see them both and to rock out an interconnected series of hospital scenes involving a sleepy lobotomy, a roboticized father, a daffodil-blossoming romance, and the world’s plushest carpet. I think they both promised to come back next month so we can defend our title, but I may have imagined that.
