Welcome to our first feature of the new year – we thought we would open the year with doing a feature month dedicated to a podcast that had a really successful 2018. Not only did the podcast reach over 100 on guests but it is also is now available on Spotify and Youtube. This month I have had the pleasure of sitting down with Improv London host and creator Stuart Moses to really go behind the microphone and find out more!

In the second part of our interview we talk about how the name for the podcast came around, advice for others and more improv.

You are an improviser yourself, what is some of the key advice you have learnt from the interviews you have done with guests?

Rather than advice per se, it’s been information about the improv scene from which I’ve benefited most. For example, I may never have gone to the British Improv Project (http://britishimprovproject.com/) unless I had interviewed one of its organisers – Tom Young – for episode 79 (https://soundcloud.com/improvlondon/79-tom-young-improv-london-podcast).

Some argue that there has been a recent surge and saturation in the market for podcasts – do you think there are too many now?

Yes, there are too many podcasts. Everyone else should stop. Seriously though, I love the fact that you can have a niche interest and the chances are there is a podcast exploring that subject. How can there be too many? You only find podcasts if you go looking for them.

It’s a new year so what podcasts would you recommend to our readers to give a try?

 You don’t need to like films to enjoy Kermode and Mayo’s Film Review (https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b00lvdrj), though it has helped foster within me a love of cinema I never thought I would feel.

If you like weird fiction then you can’t do better than listening to The H.P. Lovecraft Literary Podcast (http://hppodcraft.com/) in which hosts Chad Fifer and Chris Lackey discuss the works of H.P. Lovecraft, or the writers that inspired him and the literature he inspired.

I’ve never delved deep into the murky waters of the Am I being unreasonable? message board on Mumsnet but a cursory inspection suggests that it doesn’t always show the best side of humanity. The hosts of You Are Being Unreasonable weave comedy gold, imagining the stories behind the questions, before giving judgement. https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/you-are-being-unreasonable/id1335692560

Why did you chose the name Improv London?

 Prosaic reasons, such as the fact that I’d be making a podcast about the improv scene in London, also the word ‘improv’ is more important than ‘London’ so it comes first. I won’t deny there were some search engine optimisation influences, one day I hope that if people type ‘improv london’ into a search engine they’ll find my podcast on the first page.

So a new year what are the Improv London podcast plans for 2019?

 More of the same, I’m afraid.

You are also part of some great improv troupes! Tell us about them!

I’m in a group called Doctor Twoprov with Bryn Salisbury, in which we have adventures in the universe of Doctor Who. We play two guards in The Matrix on the Doctor’s home planet, who while taking a break, like to watch adventures of Gallifrey’s greatest hero. It’s a mix of long and short-form, which is lots of fun to do.

I’m also part of The Ol’ Bill: A Post-Brexit Improvised Police Drama, which is a narrative long-form group set in the near future. We ask the audience how a murder was committed, what item was found at the scene and what name the tabloids have come up with for the killer. Then we try to solve the crime.

What are your top three personal favourite episodes of Improv London and why?

Episode 100 – Victoria Hogg and Brendan Way turned the tables on me and I became the guest. They also did more preparation for that episode than I did for the previous 99.

Episode 70 – I am a huge Katy Schutte fan. This was a lovely, relaxed conversation we had to celebrate the publication of her book The Improviser’s Way: A Longform Workbook.

 Episode 65 – Charlotte Freya and Mark Wheeler brought Bark (a tree) and B (a cotton lady) along to the recording.

Tune in for more from Stuart Next Week…

Why not listen to past podcasts of Improv London by clicking here