Pick Your Own Pantomime: Bristol’s improvised interactive Panto for kids aged 5 – 105

A new show from the Bristol Improv Theatre takes the best bits from Panto – a brave hero, a wacky dame, and a nasty villain everyone can ‘boo’ – and then lets you decide where the story goes.

In Pick Your Own Pantomime, the entire plot is based on your suggestions and ideas, and every scene is interactive, with games and even the opportunity to get up on stage and be part of the action.

And it’s not just the actors who’re improvising – the pianist and tech artist are making the whole thing up as they go along too. With fun costumes, live music and completely improvised songs and choreography, this is a true theatrical spectacle.

Improvisation (Improv) has really come of age recently, since the Showstoppers landed their massively successful West End run in 2015 for which they received an Olivier award, and with the success of Edinburgh sell-out shows like ‘Austentatious’ and ‘Murder She Didn’t Write’.

Andy Yeoh, director of Pick Your Own Pantomime and one of the creators of Murder She Didn’t Write, believes improvisation and pantomime are a perfect fit when it comes to family entertainment.

He explains: “The children love seeing their ideas played out in front of them, and playing games and getting up on stage with the cast makes this a hugely interactive shows for children and their families.”

The Bristol Improv Theatre (BIT) was founded by a small group of passionate directors, actors and educators to spread the word about this increasingly popular art form and make people’s lives more fun through the practice of improv.

Opening in their refurbished Clifton premises in 2017, the BIT is the UK’s first dedicated improv theatre bringing world-class shows and teachers to the city from all over the world.

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