Muprov Musings: Exceptionally Average Improv

Rebecca Stockley has been directing improvised Shakespeare plays since 1989. As far as we know, she is the first person to ever create an hour-long improvised Shakespeare play.  Because she was the first to discover the artform, Rebecca is the perfect person to kick off our new series on the history and methodology of classical improvisation. 
This interview features a surprise appearance from Brian Lohmann. 
The name of the Canadian group that I forgot is Die-Nasty. 

Anson Chan, Co-Artistic Director and Co-producer of the UnScripted Shakespeare Festival joins the podcast to debrief the big takeaways from this year's festival. I tried to edit it down a little, but we still set the record for the longest episode of Muprov Musings. 

Interviews with:
Laura Kennedy
Kieran Sands
Kristin Elliott
Juwel Haque
Derbáil Kinsella
Dani Taffijn
Babette Hinterleitner
Erik Ostrom
 
I wasn't able to sit down with everybody, but the cast also included:
Matt Sparkes
Ray Billington
Terje Brevik
 
Who: Wing It Impro - Ensemble Team
 
What: Ancestors Where: Unity 1 When: 2:50pm - Saturday the 9th of May 2026 One house. Four eras. Countless secrets. ​
 
Behind the curtains of 11 Oxford Road lies a house brimming with the echoes of the past. From the joy of new births to the solemnity of deaths and marriages, these seemingly unremarkable families have far more to share than meets the eye. ​
Ancestors is a gripping, spontaneous theatrical experience that weaves together four different eras as they fight to tell their stories. In a world where memories have a life of their own, you’ll witness the legacy of a single home—and the spirits that linger within it.

Hal Munger interviews Oliver Senton from The School of Night. Oliver and Hal discus all things improv, from inspirations, ideas and everything in between.
Catch their show as part of LIF 2026 hosted by festival partners the Unity theatre. Who: The School of Night What: The School of Night Where: Unity 1 When: 7pm - Saturday the 9th of May Performed by: Oliver Senton, Dylan Emery, Joseph Chance & Alan Cox.
The School of Night has been improvising Shakespeare since they were formed by theatre maverick Ken Campbell at the request of Mark Rylance at Shakespeare's Globe in London in 2005. Their shows are wild and extravagant celebrations of theatre as they attempt to extemporise one of Shakespeare's lost plays, inspired by audience suggestions. As well as being masters of improvising in iambic pentameter, The School enjoy introducing new performers INTO their shows. This year, a new cohort of bardic explorers (who have been playing and iambickering with The School in the morning), will show off their skills in a whirlwind ride of literary games and procedures. The School's unique brand of literary improvisation has been seen all over the world, from the National Theatre to Elsinore Castle, from the Hay Literary Festival to the Edinburgh Festival. And now they are delighted to be asked back to Liverpool to continue asking the question: what if making stuff up was more fun than writing it down? ‘Fearsomely able improvisers’ ★★★★ Financial Times

Hal Munger interviews with Empty Set who will be performing here-elsewhere at LIF 2026. Hal discus all things improv, from inspirations, ideas and everything in between. Catch their show as part of LIF 2026 hosted by festival partners the Unity theatre. Who: Empty Set What: here-elsewhere Where: Unity 2 When: 4:30pm - Friday the 8th of May here-elsewhere, performed and directed by Empty Set, the duo of Rosalind Grégoire and Christianna Tsigkou is a one of a kind improvised performance where live drawing, projection and storytelling transform the space itself into a shifting, imaginative world. here-elsewhere is a performance where space itself becomes a performer. The artists transform the room through live drawing, projection, and storytelling, creating a layered world that shifts between the seen and the imagined. As we explore hidden corners and small details of the space, a scratch on the wall, a glint of light, a forgotten object, these are magnified and projected as living landscapes where new stories emerge. The performers respond, building a visual and emotional map of the room’s echo; strange, delicate, and deeply human. Each performance is unique, shaped by the architecture, atmosphere, and presence of those watching, transforming overlooked spaces into vivid, imaginative worlds, where stories emerge not from a suggestion, but from the materiality of the room. Equal parts theatre, live art and visual improvisation, here-elsewhere invites audiences to rediscover the spaces they inhabit and the stories that live quietly within them.

Hal Munger interviews Nathan Dean who will be performing the A very Capable boy at LIF 2026 at LIF 2026. Hal discus all things improv, from inspirations, ideas and everything in between. Catch their show as part of LIF 2026 hosted by festival partners the Unity theatre. Who: Greg Baxter and Nathan Dean What: A Very Capable Boy Where: Unity 2 When: 6pm - Saturday the 9th of May Sometimes silly, sometimes serious, sometimes surreal, A Very Capable Boy are a duo who blend improvisation, alternative comedy and kitchen-sink drama to create a uniquely surprising live comedic experience. For fans of I Think You Should Leave, The Royle Family, and Rick and Morty, the show draws from sources as varied as DIY music, absurdist theatre, and performance art to create a world full of darkly hilarious characters who move and amuse in equal measure.

Hal Munger interviews Rebecca MacMillan and Andĕl Sudik who will be teaching and performing the Library of Forgotten books at LIF 2026. Hal discus all things improv, from inspirations, ideas and everything in between. Catch their show as part of LIF 2026 hosted by festival partners the Unity theatre. Who: Andĕl Sudik & Rebecca MacMillan What: The Library of Forgotten Books Where: Unity 1 When: 5:30pm - Friday the 8th of May Breathe in. What do you smell? Paper. Dust. Leather bindings. Welcome to The Library of Forgotten Books - a place of ritual, where abandoned and neglected books are offered up and transformed into fleeting stories. In this dreamlike space of reverence and mischief, The Librarians examine forgotten volumes, channel their contents, and decide their fate: to be enshrined on the shelves of memory… or consigned to oblivion. A mysterious, funny and moving improvised performance created by internationally acclaimed improvisers Anděl Sudik (The Second City, Boom Chicago) and Rebecca MacMillan (The Maydays, Closer Each Day), the show blends laughter, wonder, and the quiet thrill of transgression. Audience members are invited to bring a book they’re ready to part with forever; these offerings may shape the night — or be ceremonially altered in the name of improv. What will be remembered? And what will be forgotten?

Hal Munger interviews Anneliina and Guitar who will be performing Life Happens! at LIF 2026. Hal discus all things improv, from inspirations, ideas and everything in between. Catch their show as part of LIF 2026 hosted by festival partners the Unity theatre. Who: AnneLiina & Guitar What: Life Happens! Where: Unity 1 When: 6pm - Thursday 7th of May Life is unpredictable and that’s exactly where the magic begins. From Estonia’s kIMPROose collective, performers Anneli Kirotar, Liina Karro, and musician Maarius Pärn bring you Life Happens! — a spontaneous, heartfelt, and hilariously human exploration of connection in all its chaotic beauty. In this fully improvised show, Anneli and Liina dive into the wild landscape of relationships: the closeness and the distance, the conflict and the comfort, the moments that shift us when we least expect it. Every scene is created on the spot, shaped entirely by the performers’ quick thinking, creativity, and playful curiosity. Guiding and colouring the journey is Maarius Pärn on live guitar. His improvised soundscapes pulse through the performance — sometimes soft, sometimes bold — giving each moment its own emotional rhythm. Music and theatre weave together as the story evolves in real time. Funny, warm, and boldly unpredictable, Life Happens! invites you to witness how we navigate each other — one unexpected moment at a time.

Hal Munger interviews Aunt Batty Knows who will be performing Tales from the Armchair at LIF 2026. Hal discus all things improv, from inspirations, ideas and everything in between. Catch their show as part of LIF 2026 hosted by festival partners the Unity theatre. Who: Aunt Batty Knows... What: Tales from the Armchair Where: Unity 1 When: 6pm - Thursday 7th of May Performed by: Karen Hughes, Gemma Hurst, Su Jackson and Rosie Šošić Step into the unsettling and absurd world of Aunt Batty Knows… as they weave dark tales of supernatural suspense. Tales from the Armchair is an all-woman longform show which draws its inspiration from 1970s and 1980s TV drama programmes such as Play for Today and Tales of the Unexpected. Everyday characters and situations meet a context of eerie surrealism where we wonder, is the uncanny in the mind, outside of the mind or perhaps both?

Hal Munger interviews Breakfast of Champions who will be performing at LIF 2026. Hal discus all things improv, from inspirations, ideas and everything in between. Catch their show as part of LIF 2026 hosted by festival partners the Unity theatre. Who: Breakfast of Champions What: The Big Breakfast Where: Unity 2 When: 1:30pm - Saturday the 9th of May Performed by: Jon Trevor, John Guelke, Bex Lewis, Emma New, Louise Stringer, Matt Vaughan-Wilson, Karen Benjamin, Shak Muhammed, Stags Woodward, Nine Dekker. Made up of experienced improvisers from across the Midlands, Breakfast of Champions will make up an entire show based off a single prompt from the audience. Sometimes poignant, often silly, they promise stories that will make you laugh and characters you’ll root for.