The year 2020 has been a very unusual one and the fact that a lot of festivals have been postponed this summer we wanted to do things a bit different. Due to the fact we cannot use this time to interview and promote acts heading to the fringe, we thought we would use this time to celebrate all forms of comedy! So over the next month we are interviewing an array of acts with some fun questions so you can get to know them a little bit more! Today we talk to an improv act based in Manchester that perform Murder mystery style improv shows – MurderInc.

Hello there tell me all about your group! 

Murder Inc. is a long form comedy improv show. We have a different ‘theme’ every month, which is voted on by the public. So, we’re always bringing the murder the people want!

What are your favourite things about being in your troupe?

Besides my fellow players, it’s our audiences. We get lovely, savvy, sexy people who come back month after month.

Describe each member of the improv acts by describing their characters by what animal they would be?

Me: A wolf. The main toughest one as well.
Jade Fearnley: A noble eagle.

Darryl Fishwick: A sarcastic eagle.

Edy Hurst: An eagle with a guitar.
David Stanier: A silly eagle.
Vicki Mitchem: An eagle that has its shit together.
Maggie Nolan: A cheeky eagle.
Carly Tarett: An ITeagle
Harry May-Bedell: A gay eagle.
Jessie Brooks: An eagle that does really good accents
Red Redmond: An eagle that goes to punk shows
Alex Shepley: An eagle that knows about lighting grids
Lukas Kirkby: An old man in the body of an eagle
Robyn Ellis: An eagle with the head of a woman. So, a harpy, I guess? But a funny nice one.

What has been your favourite show so far?

I really really loved our Fyre Festival-themed show. Such big but fun characters.

How was your group founded?

Jade Fearnley founded it because she’s a great improviser and wanted to push herself to put together a long-form team.

What is your favourite thing about performing improv?

I love the in-the-moment joy. 

What is the most important skill you have learnt and why?

I think the study of improv helps with loads of stuff…to be more generous, to be a positive person, and to think more flexibly. 

Describe your group for people who have not seen you live in 5 words beginning with the letter M?

Murder, Mayhem, Munchies, Mmmmthat’sgoodimprov, Merry

You can only watch three other improv acts for the rest of your life – who would they be and why?

Baby Wants Candy—They have been some of my fave Edinburgh shows. The cast is whip smart and they’re great with music (which is a real Achilles’ heel for me).

Austentatious. They are filled with some of the BEST British improvisers doing something absolutely delightful.

ComedySportz. All of the CSz teams all over the world. Each one from each city has a slightly different flavour but they all run on the same fuel…finding the fun.

What makes a good improv scene?

A good improv scene is full of the joy of mutual discovery.

What has been the best suggestion you have been given by an audience?

The back half of a panto horse. (The role I had to play in Murder Inc.’s Panto themed murder.)

Dream location to perform a show and why?

Heck. Let’s go big. Beacon Theatre in NYC. It’s a big NYC theatre but not SO big that you can’t connect with the audience.

If people want to find out more about your group where can they go on the socials?

Loads of places!
www.murderincimprov.com
FB https://www.facebook.com/M.Inc.Improv/
Twitter: @murderincimprov
Insta: murderincimprov

Finally, which improv group would you as a team love to do a collaboration with and why?

 Back in NYC, I got to train with one of the members of a group called Burn Manhattan. I’d make them reform and play some shows with us. They really floated my boat.