All this month we are talking to acts that are performing at the Liverpool Improv Festival which takes place between Thursday the 24th – Sunday the 27th of April 2025. Today we speak to Lee Apsey of CSI: Crime Scene improvisation.

Tell us about: 

Your latest improv show for Liverpool Improv Festival? 

‘CSI: Crime Scene Improvisation’ is an improvised murder mystery in which no one knows who the killer is: not even the cast! We let the audience create their own surreal murder, interrogate suspects and, in the final moments, decide who is and always has been guilty. Then it’s on us to tie all the loose ends together with a dramatic confession. It’s very much a combination of a comedy show and a highwire act as we build the world and then hand the audience a metaphorical book of matches. 

We’ve been playing sold-out shows for over a decade now with a handful of awards and a lot of folks coming back to see us again every Edinburgh: which is the most honest compliment I can think of. 

Your favourite suggestion you have been given? 

Occupation: “The composer of the music for Countdown.” 

Your favourite venue to perform at: 

Wilton’s Music Hall. It’s the world’s oldest surviving grand music hall and the acoustics in that place are something special; you really feel connected to every person in the audience and on the stage. 

Improv hero: 

For early and lasting impact, Ryan Stiles and Colin Mochrie taught me that the most exciting thing in improv is the relationship between the players. 

Dream venue to play at:

Either the Globe or one of those amphitheatres from antiquity you can still find being used by local bands and theatre companies across southern Europe. 

Describe the feeling you get when you walk on stage to do a show:

That this is a wonderful use of being alive. 

The hardest improv suggestion to perform and why: 

“Dildo.” It’s not gonna be as funny for an hour as you’d think. That being said, I do love taking a suggestion that sounds like a heckle and then treating it with such sincerity and care that it becomes surprisingly moving. Fond memories of Beth Organ creating a tear jerking musical about loneliness out of “foot and mouth disease.” The opening number was a lovesick shepherd singing “When Will it be Our Feet and Mouths?” 

Essential items you always take with you to a show? 

Smints. Also our tech and costume. 

Describe your fans in three words: 

The real heroes. 

What we can look forward to from you this year: 

The team behind CSI are debuting a new immersive show “Secret Society” which will be launching around the UK (book us!) I’ll also be doing a mini-US tour in May so give me a shout if you’re a US based improviser or venue and want me to stop by.

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