In partnership with
Old Fire Station, OX1 2AQ
Wednesday 27 Jan – Sunday 31 Jan 2027
Oxford Improv Festival 2026: Shows
The Dead Secrets + House of Improv
Intrigue, deception, and betrayal collide in this improvised Golden Age detective comedy Hickory Dickory Murder from award-winning troupe The Dead Secrets. Using audience suggestions, they spin untrustworthy characters through implausible twists toward an unbelievable finale. Expect mystery, laughter, and revenge served delightfully murderously. Surrender to the madness.
Oxford’s fast, funny, and fearless troupe, House of Improv, create a brand-new comedy play live on stage. Every character, line, and twist is improvised from audience suggestions. No scripts, no plans… just spontaneous storytelling at its best. Every show is unique, never seen before, never to be seen again.
Atomic Wasp + Awkward Actors
Oxford’s newest team, Atomic Wasp, perform long-form improv inspired by audience suggestions. Using the Armando format, they spin true-to-life monologues into funny, unpredictable scenes full of vivid characters and absurd situations. Coached by Blanche Improv, they blend realism and chaos for unforgettable, laugh-filled performances that capture life’s wild logic.
The Awkward Actors descend once more upon the Oxford Improv Festival. Brace yourself for a delectable mix of short- and long-form improv, composed of both fresh takes and old favourites. Awkward? Maybe. A good time? Absolutely.
Neil Plus One + Festival All-Stars – The Comets
Technology has made our access to the dating world easier. Swipe right for love, swipe left for your next potential marriage. But what would happen when our first date becomes the most influential moment in our lives? Join us in the Cafe of Love as Neil Plus One and a random audience member search for answers to the many mysteries of the heart! Will you swipe right for me?
Festival All-Stars – The Comets bring together a one-off ensemble created specially for this night, drawn from performers across the festival line-up. Hosted by the ever-charismatic Billy Morton, this is fast, generous, high-energy improv: bold ideas and sharp listening. Nothing repeatable. Just experienced improvisers taking real risks and having fun together.
Quirky Yurti + Festival All-Stars – The Meteors
Quirky Yurti is a merry band of souls who take improvisation to the edge of the absurd and not quite back again! We stretch the rules of improv to the limit as well as our physical and vocal capacities. We hope you enjoy our show and its twists and turns. It will be beautifully quirky and just a little bit Yurti.
The Festival All-Stars return in a completely new form. The Meteors are a different one-off ensemble, freshly assembled from across the festival — new combinations, new chemistry, new trouble. Hosted by the brilliant Vicky Stone, this set leans into playful disruption, surprising turns, and joyful precision.
People’s Theatre Collective: Youth Theatre
Fresh from Banbury, this fearless troupe of 11–20 year olds bring unstoppable energy and imagination to the stage. With your suggestions guiding the action, they’ll create unpredictable characters and wild storylines on the spot. Fast, funny, and full of heart – the next generation of improv talent.
Just Improv + The Oxford Imps
The universe speaks, whether we listen or not. Just Improv’s acclaimed long-form comedy, The Universe Speaks, explores superstition, belief, and fate, inviting the audience to guide characters through life-changing moments. Funny, thoughtful, and unpredictable, this sell-out Fringe favourite proves that every choice could be written in the stars.
Oxford’s longest-running improv troupe, The Oxford Imps has been sparking laughter since 2004 with their fast-paced, inventive comedy. Blending students and locals, they create scenes, songs, and musicals entirely on the spot. Expect quick wit, boundless energy, and pure comedic genius from this award-winning ensemble.
Moses & Sparkes + Kepow!
Stuart Moses and Matt Sparkes, as Moses & Sparkes, present relationship-driven dramatic improv exploring the full spectrum of human connection. From warmth and playfulness to tension and heartbreak, their honest, emotionally rich performances reveal how comedy and drama are inseparable in the fragile, funny world of human relationships.
Join Kevin Tomlinson and guests for a heartwarming, hilarious exploration of life’s turning points. Kepow! Theatre presents On the Edge! — from first love to bungee jumps. Fresh from sell-out world tours, On the Edge! blends comedy and poignancy in a show bursting with energy, invention, and joy. Suitable for ages 7 to 107.
Wing It Impro + Taxi Tales
Wing It Impro presents The Gricers , celebrating 200 years of the passenger railway, The Gricers is a bittersweet, improvised tale of friendship, obsession, and waiting. Mike and Mark’s passion for trains becomes a quiet meditation on connection and purpose. With live DJ’ing and vivid storytelling, it’s improvisation at its most human and heartfelt.
An improvised journey through late-night Oxford, before mobile phones changed everything. In fleeting cab rides, drivers and passengers share moments of truth, humour, and confession. Part comedy, part nocturnal mosaic, Taxi Tales reveals the quiet beauty of human connection. Directed by Matt Sparkes, conceived by Mark Smith.
Oxford Improv Festival 2026: Workshops
Nathan Peter Grassi and Ida Berglöw Kenneway: Creating Instant Characters
Members of The Dead Secrets will lead an energetic workshop exploring how to create instant and believable characters. Participants will learn to approach characterisation through improvisation and discover new characters along the way by learning some simple and fun techniques.
This workshop is for anyone: whether you’re entirely new to improv, haven’t tried it in years, or have lots of previous experience and want to brush up on your skills.
Orson Hart: Improv 101
Been thinking about trying improv but not sure where to start? Come along to House of Improv’s Improv 101 Workshop. We will help develop the basic skills required for performing improvised comedy by playing some fun games and working collaboratively to create scenes.
The workshop will be run by performers from the Oxford-based troupe with years of experience in getting new performers started with improv. If you’re completely new or looking to brush up your improv skills, then this workshop is perfect for you.
Tim Goldman and Amy Kerstein (Quirky Yurti): Anyone Can Improvise
Come and join us for 90 minutes like you’ve never experienced before!
We will share some of the fundamentals of improv and also some of the more natural and free aspects of the artform that can turn anyone into an improvisor in just 10 minutes. It will be a hoot!
Neil Curran: Working with Strangers
There are no safety nets in immersive, interactive improv shows but that doesn’t mean it should be a high wire, death defying act. Growing comfort with performing with strangers also builds our resilience and ability to perform with inexperienced or difficult teammates too. In this workshop we explore performing with strangers, be it non-improvisers or inexperienced performers, levering our strengths, and theirs too, even if they don’t know they have them!
Learning Outcomes:
- Handling resistance on stage
- Finding offers when you feel your partner is not giving you any
- Dealing with curveballs
- Performing with strangers
- Making a show of it!
Matt Sparkes: Telepathy for Improvisers
You step into a scene. Your partner doesn’t say a word. They just sit there… still, watching, maybe a flicker of emotion across their face. For a moment, it feels like you’re alone, carrying the whole weight of the scene. But then something shifts. You notice the tilt of their head, the way they won’t meet your eyes, the tension in their hands. Suddenly, you realise: there is a story here. It’s not being told, it’s being shown.
In this workshop, you’ll explore the telepathic side of improv…playing as if your character instinctively knows what their partner is thinking and feeling. You’ll heighten your awareness of subtle behaviour and emotion, discovering how to create scenes that feel intuitive, alive, and deeply connected.
Paul Z Jackson: Improvisation for Life
Step into a lively, supportive space where improvisation becomes more than performance – it’s a way of engaging with life.
You’ll take part in playful activities that build confidence, spark creativity, and uncover hidden strengths.
Explore the core principles of improv – listening, noticing, and responding – in a safe, encouraging atmosphere. Discover how these tools can sharpen communication, elevate collaboration, and help you thrive in a changing world.
Through laughter and connection, you’ll gain practical insights to apply right away – boosting creativity, innovation, and resilience.
No experience needed – just curiosity and a willingness to play.
Kevin Tomlinson: The Keith Johnstone Improv System
Would you like to be more creative? A better storyteller? Better actor? Better improviser? If you answered yes to one or more of these questions, then this is the workshop for you. In this workshop you will explore the ideas of Keith Johnstone (author of the famous book “Impro”) and how his ideas are designed to release everyone’s imaginations.
This workshop explores the 10 ways in which we block our imaginations (and other people’s) via; wimping, hedging, bridging, ignoring, under accepting, side tracking and killing ideas.
Oxford Imps: Musical Improv
Join the Oxford Imps for a fun, welcoming Introduction to Musical Improv workshop! Discover how to create songs on the spot through playful games, teamwork, and creativity.
No singing or improv experience needed – just enthusiasm! Perfect for anyone wanting to experiment and unleash their inner musical genius.
Awkward Actors: How to Be Awkward
Here’s your chance to get playful and creative with the Awkward Actors! Join us for a gentle set of exercises and games that will focus on building your spontaneity skills- whether you plan to use them on stage or off.
Be you a seasoned improv veteran or an absolute beginner fulfilling a New Year’s resolution, there’s never been a better opportunity to embrace your “Inner Awkward”!
Alex Jones: How to Make Your Improv Scenes Pop
The funniest scenes don’t come from trying to be funny — they come from being real. In this improv workshop, Alex from Atomic Wasp will introduce how to use the ‘who, what, and where?’, listening and reacting, exploring stakes, and heightening your choices to help your scenes.
By focusing on building real-life scenes, relationships, and situations, your scenes will feel easy, alive, and engaging; your audiences will be captivated, and the comedy will naturally pop.
Experience level: Must have completed a beginners improv course.
Mark Smith: Creating Images and Sound: Listening with Your Eyes and Ears
This workshop is built around play and spontaneity. You’ll explore how group images, stage pictures, and shape (both literal and abstract) can enhance transitions and offers within scenes. You will also learn to use your voice in a non-textual way to deepen your work.
When paired with spoken text or song, these elements create an exciting additional layer that you can apply to both short and long-form improv.
This workshop is perfect for those who are new to improv or for experienced improvisers who want to explore a new approach to how their work looks and sounds on stage.
Stuart Moses: Using Movement To Inspire Character And Subvert Cliché
Do you catch yourself creating the same kinds of characters? Do you lean too heavily on words to show who you are and how you feel? In this workshop, we’ll unlock ways to build unique and interesting characters through physicality.
Drawing inspiration from movement theoretician Rudolf Laban, we’ll explore his three Efforts – Space, Weight, and Time – through playful movement.
We’ll float, punch, glide, slash, dab, wring, flick, and press, expanding our physical vocabulary to reveal what’s happening inside our characters, and ultimately inside ourselves.
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