When we play ‘Spin-a-Play!’ a “brand new” theatrical “masterpiece” is improvised live on stage using suggestions and a spin of our wheel of genres. The audience control how it starts, continues and even how it ends!
Here are the complete records of all the plays we have created:
006 - Spin City
Fri 11th August 2023 - The Museum of Comedy, London, during Camden Fringe
Main genre - Film Noir
Secondary genres - Rock Opera, Murder Mystery, Dramatic Monologue
Jonny was a very bad man and done several murders but in the end was himself killed by a femme fatale - Shirl the good time girl. Two pub landlords, two drunken women on a night out in the city, a suspicious butcher and his assistant. One complicated love triangle, several pints of Babycham, several near misses and one grisly murder by poisoning. I also featured a hardcore rock opera concert mid-way through.
(Photo by Sky Katelar)
005 - Scandal in a Carriage
Thu 10th August 2023 - The Museum of Comedy, London, during Camden Fringe
Main genre - Period Drama
Secondary genres and styles - Scandi-Noir, Greek Chorus, Rap Battle, Cartoon, Nature Documentary
1595, “Regency” England, the estate of Lord Cockburn (pronounced exactly how its spelled) is falling into disrepute - under the stewardship of his head Butler, Smithers, all of the horses are disappearing and no one knows how or why. Elsewhere, Mildred, a scullery maid - played by Maggie Smith - has delusions of grandeur and makes a pass for his Lordship and more specifically, his very particular birthmark. They get to know each other better on a lovely romantic carriage ride featuring some very charismatic trees and creatures. Meanwhile, across the sea, Bob and Janet, a couple of exiled farmers, make their way to Yorkshire - the latter, fueled by the passion of conquest in her heart, discovers she is in love with Lord Cockburn too. Soon the love triangle reaches a violent conclusion when Janet and Mildred/Maggie have a brutal faceoff inside the carriage leading to the death of the queen! Scandal indeed.
(Photo by Rebecca Rayne)
004 - My Cousin is a Princess and a Bitch
Wed 19th July 2023 - The Playwright, Nottingham
Main genre - Disney Teen Guff Film
Secondary genres - Medieval Fantasy, Mime, Nature Documentary, Dance
A very small medieval kingdom is getting ready for Princess Beatrice’s 20th birthday party - her last day of being a teenager. She has to deal with checking the guest list, choosing a dress, providing catering for all the attendees and, later, worrying about whether or not Fred the Dragon is going to eat her! Fear not, via a lesson in Dragonology from David Attenborough, followed by some handy time-skipping magic, we get to see the party go off without a hitch (despite that egregious cow Dorothy attending…) and with use of a Lovely Dance, the dragon is vanquished, and leaves the kingdom in peace.
003 - The Taming of Widow Twanky
Thu 29th Jun 2023 - The Maddermarket Theatre, Norwich
Main genre - Shakespearian Pantomime
Secondary genres and styles - Paranormal, Jazz, Mime, Greek Chorus, Soliloquy
The poor Widow Twanky has been working in her Launderette to distract from the grief of the passing of her husband several years prior. Unfortunately, an on-the-spot HR inspection (by an inspector NOT named Macbeth…) reveals some very critical shortcomings in her work. Soon after, we were introduced to the “Jazz Bush” and discovered it’s tragic backstory too, via a heartfelt soliloquy and a chorus of mimes. Things soon came to a head when it was discovered that a giant, played with gravitas by several iterations of Sean Connery impersonators, was interested in marrying Widow Twanky and saving her ailing business. All’s well that ends well, eh?
002 - The Man with the Golden Bun
Sat 13th May 2023 - The Hunter Club, Bury St Edmunds
Main genre - Ballet
Secondary genres - Silent Movie, Hammer Horror, Shakespeare, Dramatic Monologue
This play charted the life and times of Dmitri Jones, an aspiring ballet auteur, working on his new masterpiece ‘The Magic Envelope’. We followed the development process from initial casting right through to the disastrous opening night, where the stage collapsed mid-performance. From there, Dmitri’s life took a Faustian turn as he (somehow) was doomed to an eternity of cruel tortures in hell in punishment for his crimes to the true art of ballet. Along the way though we were treated to a very lovely monologue from Dmitri, and a truly spellbinding, completely-silent excerpt of the ballet itself performed by its two principal dancers.
001 - He Touched Me There
Fri 14th April 2023 - The Fisher Theatre, Bungay
Main genre - Puppet Show
Secondary genres - Ventriloquism, Courtroom Drama, Lord of the Rings
A courtroom in the mid 1990s, Kermit the Frog and Miss Piggy are locked into a furious battle over who touch who - inappropriately or otherwise. Also featured a dream sequence on a desert island - never fully explained - and a surprise visit to The Shire with Gandalf and Gollum arguing over which puppets were which.