Have you ever wondered what would result from the flirtation between a rabbit and a hedgehog? Think no more. Welcome to Paul Merton and Suki Webster’s Improv Show, live on stage at Brighton Dome. The audience sit rapt as spikes meet fur in a musical showdown to rival, well, er…some others. Being improvised, it’s all the more impressive.
The husband-wife duo (Merton and Webster, do keep up) are joined by Alexander Jeremy, famed for Shoot From The Hip, and Mike McShane, improv legend. Supported by musical accompaniment from Comedy Store Players regular, Kirsty Newton, this troupe’s improv credentials pack a real punch.
Merton and Webster have palpable chemistry with an almost constant stream of innuendo which infuses even the most innocent of moments. This somewhat saucy energy filters through the rest of the performance. In one scene, an audience member is put in charge of positioning Jeremy and Webster on stage, and the dialogue summoned from the increasingly unexpected positions is incredibly joyful.
The offer of music is slightly underutilised in the first half, which is a shame given Newton’s ample skill-set. Jeremy and Merton offer a marvellous example of improv-favourite game, Translator, where one improviser speaks in a ‘foreign language’ or gibberish and the other ‘translates’ their nonsense into increasingly ludicrous suggestions. At the end of this set, Jeremy skips across the stage in gleeful, faux Italian song, and when offered the opportunity to translate, Merton sadly cuts it short. ‘Di più,’ cry the audience, wordlessly (thanks, Google Translate).
The musical heritage of Brighton Dome is touched upon in a piece on Eurovision. This very stage hosted Abba when they won the contest back in 1974. In the 2025 improvised edition, songs about Bags for Life are all the rage. Who’d have thought it?
The second half of the show greatly picks up from the first, concluding with a Hamlet-inspired horror called Beeflet, and Merton and Webster incorporating audience suggestions into a scene with a married couple. Who can tell where they took their inspiration from?
This particular performance feels like it could have done with a touch of something extra, but that’s said with no comment on the ample talent of the performers. A bit more ‘yes-and’, a little more musical improv in the first half, perhaps. The room is packed, and it’s pleasing to see so many improv fans showing up to Brighton Comedy Festival for an evening of freshly hatched, made-up fun. You see, the beauty with improv is that this show was but a moment in time. You had to be there. The next time they perform, the audience will see something entirely different.
Reviewed on 26 October 2025.
