GTI Shows

What: An hour and a half of fearlessly inventive, exciting and funny sketches, skits and songs, all made up on the spot, all inspired by audience suggestions.

When: Every Thursday from 30th September to 16th December 2010

What Time
: 8:30pm -10:15pm (doors open 8:15pm)

Where
: Upstairs at The Wheatsheaf, 25 Rathbone Place, London W1T 1JB

How Much
: £5

Bookings
: e-mail tickets@grandtheftimpro.com or phone 020 7580 1585 to book - give a name, a date and a number of tickets. You must show up by 8pm on the night to pick up the tickets.


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Photographs by
Gabrielle Motola

For more on improvisation in the UK, go to
The Crunchy Frog Collective website

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The Cast


Dylan Emery is one of the founders of Grand Theft Impro, co-created Showstopper! The Improvised Musical and is a member of Ken Campbell's School of Night. He has performed all over the world, but focuses mostly on the UK - notably at the Olivier, The Royal Court, Bristol Old Vic, BBC Radio, and has done countless shows at venues from The Drill Hall to the King’s Head. He started improvising under the pitiless tutelage of Alan Marriott in 2001 and has also studied with a host of other impro teachers including Keith Johnstone.

Phil Whelans has performed impro shows in Toronto, Seattle, San Franciso and New York but mostly in London, where he has performed in Theatresports at the Donmar Warehouse, Court in the Act and Eddie Izzard's Impro MD. Phil was invited to improvise at 2001's Just for Laughs Montreal Comedy Festival (CBCTV) and recently made Gibberish: an Impro TV pilot for Celador TV. Phil's T.V. performing credits include The Jack Docherty Show (Ch5), Preston Front, Punt and Dennis (BBC), Jo Brand through the Cakehole, Brasseye, Phil Kay is feeling... and The Lost Chord with Bill Bailey (Ch4). His writing credits include The Brian Conley Show, Lily Live and 2DTV (LWT), The 11 O'Clock Show, The Big Breakfast, Your Face or Mine, Armstrong and Miller (Ch4), The Live Floor Show, Velvet Soup, Revolver and TV to Go (BBC).

Drew Leavy has been improvising since 1987, when he joined Toronto Theatresports. Since then, he has improvised and taught impro in both London and Toronto. He has had successes in Toronto fringe theatre, as well as understudying the role of Captain Kirk in a series of live improvised Star Trek shows. In 1996, Drew completed studies at the Academy Drama School of Whitechapel and has lived in London since 1995. His most recent television appearance was as the captain of the spaceship in the Channel 4 reality TV programme Space Cadets.
 
Alumni and Guests

Alan Marriott co-founded Grand Theft along With Dylan. He was called back to his native Canada, where he continues his good works. Alan is one of the most respected and experienced improviser in the world. He has worked with or taught almost every improvisational theatre group in London including: The Comedy Store Players, Dogs on Holiday, Brickbats Volunteers, South of the River (with Steve Frost and Jeremy Hardy) and The Top Dog Players. He is also the creator of many successful impro shows, including: The Impro Musical and Impropera (a fully improvised opera). A list of Alan's former students reads like a Who's Who of British comedy and includes Eddie Izzard, Alan Davies, John Sparks, Gordon Kennedy, Niall Ashdown, Fay Ripley and many more.
 



History
Grand Theft Impro was set up at the start of 2003 by Alan Marriott and Dylan Emery. It is the performing wing of The Crunchy Frog Collective and regularly performs in and around London.

GTI started with a core team of six players, four of whom are grand dames of impro, with a combined 70 years of impro experience. These are: Phil Whelans, Lesley Albiston, Drew Leavy and Alan Marriott. The other two were the relative newcomers Duncan Foster and Dylan Emery.

Fresh Blood

By the middle of 2003, it become obvious that GTI would need more players to join in as and when the core team were not able to make it, and so guest players started making regular appearances.

The most frequent guest (so much so that he's almost part of the core team) has been the mostly insane Phil Pellew. Other guests have been Tony Slattery (Whose Line is it Anyway Alumnus), Nial Ashdown (Comedy Store Players), Michelle Owoo (Improper), Suki Webster (Comedy Store Players), Nick Johne (Second City in Toronto), Shawn Kinley (Loose Moose, Calgary) Antony Ingle (head of external music at Lamda drama school).

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