If you are looking for something to do this weekend then we have the perfect show for you to watch online! Yes Queens is performing on Sunday at the Battersea Arts Centre. It is an all female cast with improvisers from Showstopper, Hoopla and The Playgound, with musical Director Yshani Perinpanayagam. I spoke to Pippa Evans to find out all about this one night only show.

Hello there Pippa tell us a little bit about yourself!

My name is Pippa Evans and I am a performer, specialising in improvisation. I am part of Showstopper! The Improvised Musical, The Glenda J Collective, There Will Be Cake and the fabulous Yes Queens. I have been improvising for 15 years or so and just love love love making things up with my pals. I live in South London and lockdown has given me a need to eat biscuits every 45 minutes.

Tell us all about the project that you are bringing to the online world this weekend?

We are performing Yes Queens on Sunday at the Battersea Arts Centre, which is very exciting. This is our first show since lockdown happened and so we are feeling a bit giddy about being back in a room together. Yes Queens was created by Julie Clare, the wonderful theatre producer, who wanted to bring the hottest female talent London has to offer, together, to see what might occur. The answer is showbiz anarchy! It’s a riot from start to finish.

What times does it run throughout the day?

The show is livestreaming at 7.30pm and is an hour long. It is not repeated or recorded, so get thee to a screen so you might catch this glimpse of improv magic.

How much does it cost , what platform etc?

Each ticket is £10 and can be bought from the Battersea Arts Centre website. They will then send you a link to watch the show. https://bac.org.uk/whats-on/yes-queens/

An all female cast as well! That’s very exciting!

Yes, we love a chance to play together. There is something magical when a group of women come together to create something. I can’t explain it, really. You’ll just have to watch and see.

It is part of the Make Love season as well! Tell us a little bit about that!

Battersea Arts Centre, like most theatre venues, are doing everything they can to find ways to create work and spread positivity amongst artists and performers. It’s been a hard time for us creatives in many ways, particularly those who work mainly in the live performance area. The Make/Love season is BAC creating opportunities to MAKE work and spread LOVE. Not a bad remit for any of us to live by, I say.

With everything happening in the world at the moment, why is it so important to have activities like yours available?

We are surrounded by bad news all the time at the moment, especially those of us who are now working from home and checking Twitter every 5 minutes. We need positivity to be shining out of our screens as well. My hope is Sunday’s show will remind people of the joy that live performance creates – seeing something happening in the moment – and take people away from all the misery and transport them somewhere beautiful for a while.

What are three things you have learnt about adapting to improv and doing shows online?

You can still get butterflies even when the audience is virtual.

Improv works best when the performers are in the same space, but the audience still witnesses the sparks wherever they are.

Audiences love a chat box. Unlike the normal theatre, the audience can chat in the chatbox all through the show, whilst watching the performance. It means when you finish and watch it back, you can see what the audience were thinking the whole time. It is delightful!

Even when shows are back in theatres in the future will you be considering doing any more online content? 

Oh yes. We have a Showstopper Livestream (Fridays in October) and that is going to be carrying on even when we are back in theatres. Yes Queens will be playing wherever will have us – online, offline, linedancing. If you want a show, get in touch!

If people want to find out more about you on social media where shall they visit?

You can follow me @iampippaevans and Yes Queens @yesqueensimpro

Finally why should people get involved?

Because you will have a delightful time AND we need to show the world that the arts are valuable and wanted. So get thee a ticket and come play with us over the internet 🙂