Muprov Musings: Exceptionally Average Improv

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.

Hal Munger interviews Phil Lunn who will be performing Phyllida Sings 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: Phil Lunn What: Phyllida Sings Where: Unity 1 When: 4pm - Saturday the 9th of May Phyllida invites you to a celebration of her life and career. She'll be sharing her repertoire of songs and stories—songs and stories which are unique for each performance. The lyrics, the music, and the conversation are all inspired by the audience and created on the spot. Indeed, the whole character of Phyllida is only fully formed once the show has begun. From her piano, she'll tell of her amusing adventures, her incredible career, and her most personal moments. Come and celebrate the life of this incredible woman—you may smile, you may laugh, you may cry, you might even sing along!

Hal Munger interviews Improv the Dead 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. What: Improv the Dead Where: Unity 1 When: 8:30pm - Saturday the 9th of May Age range: 16+ Using audience suggestions, Improv the Dead conjure up a spontaneous zombie flick right before your eyes, part B-movie schlock, part chaotic blockbuster, complete with thrills, gut-busting laughs, and fake blood. Plus, bonus features! Between carnage-filled scenes, the cast can smash cut to improvised interviews with the characters, step into hilarious behind-the-scenes moments with the director and crew, and unveil deleted scenes that never made the cut—all created on the spot with your help. So, if you’re looking for an evening of blood-soaked laughter, creeping suspense, and gloriously shambolic zombie antics, look no further. Improv the Dead promises a high-energy, one-night-only horror-comedy experience that will leave you both terrified and tickled, and like any good cult classic, you’ll never see this exact film again.

Hal Munger interviews Eric Caldwell who will be performing from the show But of Mind with Diana Brown, Kelly Chambers and Dan Wilson. Eric 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. But Of Mind places ordinary people into extraordinary, often unsettling situations—unfolding live, unscripted, and in the style of the golden age of television. Each performance blends supernatural elements, social commentary, and a touch of existential irony, echoing Rod Serling’s trademark storytelling while offering a modern, socially aware lens. The title comes from a line in Rod Serling’s iconic opening narration to The Twilight Zone: “You’re traveling through another dimension, a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind.” This phrase captures the show’s ethos: psychological depth, the uncanny, and the sense that what unfolds onstage is both familiar and otherworldly. Who: But Of Mind Where: Unity 2 When: 1:30pm - Saturday the 9th of May

Hal Munger interviews director of LIF ensemble 2026 Mark Smith who will be creating Ancestors at LIF 2026. Mark 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: Wing It Impro - Ensemble Team What: Ancestors Where: Unity 1 When: 2:50pm - Saturday the 9th of May Performed by: Terje Brevik, Ray Billington, Kristin Elliott, Juwel Haque, Babette Hinterleitner, Laura Kennedy, Derbáil Kinsella, Hal Munger, Erik Ostrom, Kieran Sands, Matt Sparkes, Dani Taffijn. One house. One family. One story. For 120 years, the Fletcher family has called 11 Oxford Road home. It's a house filled with four generations of births, deaths, and marriages. But in 2026, this seemingly unremarkable family faces a life-changing decision: do they sell the house and move on, or is the pull of the past too strong to ignore? What happens when the memories of the past fight to keep you there. Ancestors is a gripping, spontaneous theatrical experience that follows three generations as they tell their own story. Witness a tale of inheritance, identity, and the choices we make to either embrace or reject our past. Quotes on previous work Extremely imaginative and fun to watch ★★★★ - North West End The work reminded me of Jim Cartwrights ‘Two’ and Caroline Aherne ‘The Royle Family’ – a slice of life made real amongst the buffet. ★★★★ - The Reviews Hub Talk to the Hand is great fun, highly skilled and very funny. ★★★★ - The Reviews Hub Improvised theatre at its very best ★★★★★ - At the Theatre Commissioned by LiF 2026

Hal Munger interviews Absolute Onions a Manchester improv company who will be performing Improv Island Discs. The Onions 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. Performed by: Anthony Barnish, Jen Clarke, James Carmichael, Patrick Murray Hello Castaways! Imagine you're shipwrecked on a desert island. What would be your 'go-to' song, your favourite book and your most treasured item? With these suggestions to inspire them, Absolute Onions will produce a fully improvised tale, drenched with drama, emotion, fun and laughter! So, let's drift away on your ocean of dreams! Who: Absolute Onions What: Improv Island Discs Where: Unity 2 When: 8pm - Thursday 7th of May

Hal Munger interviews Kathy and Joe Rinaldi from ImprompTwo & Co who will be performing from the show ‘The Sinners Table’. Kathy and Joe 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. The Sinner’s Table! It’s where the wedding leftovers are seated — the loud uncle with the booming laugh, the aunt who refills her wine before the toast is over, and the singles who've left a trail of stories and broken hearts behind them. It's where truths are nudged, jokes go too far, and sparks sometimes fly out of nowhere. It’s unpredictable, unfiltered, and just a little bit unholy. It’s the table where everyone secretly wishes they were sitting. Who: ImprompTwo & Co What: The Sinners Table Where: Unity 1 When: 8:30pm - Friday the 8th of May

Hal Munger interviews Mike Burton and Fergus Wynne who will be performing from the show Gricers. Mike and Fergus 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. Gricers is a new, spontaneous theatre show created to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the modern passenger railway. Inspired by Francis Bourgeois’s book The Trainspotters Notebook and Tom Quinn’s Railways' Strangest Journeys, this show is a bittersweet and profound reflection on male friendship and quiet obsession. Meet Mike and Mark. Their quest isn’t for fame or fortune. It’s for the 4:32 from Manchester Piccadilly, the 11:05 to Carlisle, the one last engine number that will make their collection complete. They are ‘Gricers’, standing trackside in rain and shine, a passionate, uniquely British tribe. The real journey isn’t on the rails. It’s in the waiting. In the shared flasks of tea, the silences, the decades of friendship. This is the story of what happens in between the arrivals and departures, a tale of two men driven by a passion to complete a collection and the hope that they can finally finish. Performed by Mike Burton (Stupid, Atom Improv), Mark Smith (HOOF!, The Fly, A Wake and Taxi Tales) and Fergus Wynne this spontaneous theatre event is like no other. The show features compelling storytelling, a cavalcade of characters and live DJ'ing. Who: Wing It Impro What: Gricers Where: Unity 1 When: 8:30pm - Thursday 7th of May