Improvisational theatre has been integral to comedy and seen as a part of the foundation of theatre, as without tragedy there will be no comedy. Talking People LTD takes the concept of improv to devise a piece of theatre that draws from everyday themes, audience influences and the world around us. Talking People in association with The Sessions, was created by Producer Elina Saleh and Director Richard Vincent. It is part of Bush Theatre’s ALT B programme – a platform for creatives, makers and performers across art forms.
No one performance is ever the same as there is no script, only basic prompts and audience participation. The first round starts with a question and answer session, much like a therapy session. All of the actors answer in character with the only variable being, whether the other actors can hear the response or not. Both the director and the audience were able to fire questions at the characters for a deeper understanding of the relationships and history, these themes are the catalyst for how the characters interact with each other. For the show on November 13th, all actors were placed in a couple with the female characters being sisters. This was a great element as we heard the backstory and minds of the characters, and then generic everyday themes were given.
Precious Mustapha (Ted Lasso) and Reda Elazouar (Sex Education) were a couple. Mustapha played a florist who worked part-time as a life coach but appeared to judge the people around her, whereas Elazouar played a startup business owner. They were living in a converted office space and were experiencing money issues. Mohammed Mansaray (Boarders) and Milly Zero (Eastenders) are in an open polyamorous relationship, Mansaray plays a fine artist and Zero is between jobs as a life drawing model. As the mother’s favourite, Zero and Mansaray moved into the family home shortly after the announcement of the mother’s terminal illness. Aaron Fontaine (The Outpost) and Jessie Bedrossian (Grantchester) are the last couple, Fontaine plays an arrogant well-off mature junior doctor and Bedrossian a temperamental English Literature student, the age gap plays heavily on the relationship as Bedrossian still lives in student accommodation.
Once the foundation of the characters is built, the second part of the show allows the story to take flight – an event that brings all characters together, in this instance it was the death of their mother. Here is where the dynamics come into play and raw emotions run high as the actors drive the play. This is a true culture crush and one to watch whether you are a theatre lover, an actor or looking for a fun night out!
Talking People LTD had a successful sold-out, two-night run and we are hopefully anticipating more shows in the future.