A rambling choose-your-own-musical caper that rivals national improv groups.
It’s Friday night, and we’re in Iceland the supermarket. Ralph the virgin/tech guy has a budding flirtation with the store manager, who has a delightfully Icelandic surname this reviewer can neither remember, nor pronounce. There’s a frozen prawn platter on standby, just in case you’re feeling a little peckish.
No, this isn’t a dodgy 1970s film in the making. We’re watching Do the Thing, the Brighton-based musical improvised comedy trio. The audience chose this musical, and they’re absolutely loving it. Their involvement is vital to the storyline, with three designated audience members given complete free reign over the original set-up, then offered ongoing options for the future direction of travel.
Featuring appearances from murderous Glaswegian prawns, beelzebub and a duck, the versatility of stars, Simon Plotkin and Tim Meredith is on full parade. Doing a choose-your-own-adventure style performance could be vulnerable and exposing for any performer, but this twoprov team tackle the challenge with impressive precision.
The dynamic between Plotkin and Meredith is highly honed and clearly deeply affectionate. The way they bounce off each other is pleasing to watch. Meredith has a puppylike energy on-stage, his boundless enthusiasm has the audience immediately on-side. At one point, he finds himself performing with a folding chair straddled atop each arm, somehow managing to look as if that’s exactly what he was intending all along. With Plotkin’s army of goofy facial expressions and bold character choices on-call for a live-action response, they make the perfect pair. Their songs are catchy, funny and leave a memorable mark on those watching. As even the songs are entirely improvised, this is especially impressive.
Kudos to Ian Scott, the musician of the match. He is the ultimate custodian of the madness that unfolds, reigning in the infectious impulses of Plotkin and Meredith to ensure some sort of a narrative persists. He’s incredibly in tune – both musically, thankfully, but also to the pulse of this show forming before our very eyes. When the theme tune breaks through, our dynamic duo are prompted to offer the designated audience members a choice of options to continue the story. Every section is peppered with several running threads and in-jokes, much to the audience’s joy.
The beauty of an improvised show is that every night is different. Never again will niche jokes about ethernet cables sit alongside an OnlyFans account featuring toilet pictures the world never asked to see. Will Ralph the virgin/tech guy ever get lucky? Are there any foods that aren’t based around frozen prawns? Will this reviewer ever remember the delightfully Icelandic surname of the Iceland supermarket manager? This world and its problems exist solely in a moment in time, shared between the performers and their audience. You had to be there. In Do the Thing’s next show, a completely different audience will choose an entirely new musical from scratch. A delight for improv newbies, impromptu old-hands and musical fans alike. Will you be joining them?
Runs until 11 May 2025 at Rotunda Theatre Brighton: Bubble.
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