‘Hysterical Historical Improv’ Lives Up to its Name
Hysterical Historical Improv delivers on its promise of making history hysterical. From local group Improv Kingston, local history comes to life in a way you haven’t seen before. Dan Walmsley directs, writes, and performs, with the help of additional performers Jon Britton and Henry Korba-Babcock (as well as occasional promised special guests, although none appeared in the performance I attended).
The premise of this “historical improv” is that Walmsley has chosen a real, true-to-life story from history (in the case of the performance I attended, a tale involving a love triangle from Belleville), and adapts it to condensed pieces that he reads aloud and they became brief directions. These prompts are interpreted live onstage by Britton and Korba-Babcock, who are hearing the story for the first time without knowing any context. There is a new story from history chosen for each show, so the one I saw was not repeated during TK Fringe. This is a really neat premise and something I would definitely see again, especially since the story would be different. I came in as a fan of the online episodic show Drunk History, in hopes that this would be an adjacently-improvised history show (albeit a sober one). I was certainly far from disappointed, and spent a good portion of the show in tears from laughing so hard.
The set is totally bare except for a corner comfy armchair with a lamp where Walmsley is comfortably situated as the show’s storyteller. With a serious tone that also felt like it was giving a knowing wink at times, Walmsley’s narration is reminiscent of Stuart McLean, and offers a delightful contrast to the chaos that ensued onstage as Britton and Korba-Babcock (often frantically) interpreted the story. The only props are two well-worn blocks (seemingly storage cubes), that Britton and Korba-Babcock made good use of, rapidly throwing them around to suit different set-pieces and props as needed. These two pieces were all they needed to create a variety of totally believable scenes to suit the story, and were clearly well-used.
The three actors have wonderful chemistry, and it’s clear that they have a strong rapport and comfort with each other. Britton and Korba-Babock especially had to directly interact with each other throughout the performance, and were excellently paired together as peers and comrades.
The two change seamlessly between different characters (including, as needed, various farm animals), and sometimes share the same character—for instance, when A needs to interact with B, Britton and Korba-Babcock each choose one to play, but then C may come along and be taken over by the A actor, only for A character to come back into the scene and need to be played by the B actor.
This was my first time seeing anything from Improv Kingston and I was very impressed. Walmsley is very professional and skilled, while Britton and Korba-Babcock are promising young actors that I would look forward to seeing in other works (or another historical improv!). The premise is so unique and locally-flavoured in a way that really suits the vibe of supporting local works and creators in Kingston.
‘Hysterical Historical Improv’ by Improv Kingston played at the Confederation Place Hotel in TK Fringe as part of the 2024 Kick & Push Festival. For more information, click here.
