If you have never watched a Soap Opera set in an ice castle built on the moon... or heard the song 'Who stole my budgies?' in Opera style sung by three people one word at a time... or been exposed to the never before heard poem 'Cry me a volcano' danced for you by the poet's gardener, then you need to go and visit a show of TheatreSports...

WHAT IS IT?

Theatresports is Cape Town's longest running live show (more than 10 years) performing twice a week at Artscape Theatre in Town. Two teams of actors compete in a series of improvised games against each other using suggestions provided by the audience.

Three sets of judges picked randomly from the audience members score the teams with sets of cards ranging from 5 (Phenomenal! I'm going to come back next week to see the show again) to 1 (What a load of RUBBISH! I'm going to return next week because they could not possibly do any worse than that) with the numbers 2, 3, and 4 in between.

The types of suggestions the audience might be asked to provide range from a general character to include in a scene (eg an over-enthusisatic carpet salesman) to an indoor or outdoor location where they have always longed to see a scene set (eg deep in a jungle or in the broom closet) or even a television, movie or theatre style for a scene to be played out in (eg sitcom, B-grade horrow movie or Shakespeare) and they may even be asked to provide original titles for never-before heard songs or poems that the teams must then make up (eg 'Running with Cheesecloth' or 'The Day my Battery expired')

A charismatic Master of Ceremonies is on hand to lead the firstimer 'Theatresports Virgins' through the evening and to ensure they understand each game as it happens and emerge at the end as a Theatresports veteran. Along with the M.C. we have a person on lights and someone on the piano and keyboard doing their own brand of improvising to add light and sound effects to the short scenes that emerge on the stage.

Basically a LOT of fun is had by all. The difference between our show and a certain similar television version from the States is that we don't pull hapless 'victims' from the audience onto stage to play games and the majority of the games we play rely on suggestions from the audience. Thus every single show is absolutely different and you can afford to come back week after week and be entertained all over again without ever getting bored or seeing the same thing again.

HOW DO I GET TO SEE IT?

We play Theatresports every Tuesday and Thursday evening starting at 8:30pm and usually finishing just before 10pm at On The Side in the Artscape Theatre (formerly the Nico) and the cost is a mere R30 (R25 if you provide proof of being a student) which is way more entertainment but for the same price as a movie. There is also a Nino's restaurant and bar right next to us if you would like to come early and grab a bite to eat or a drink before the show.

You can phone and book through me in advance (even on the day) at 083 366 7863 (just leaving your name and how many people would be sufficient for us to keep seats for you near the front) or else Megan Choritz at 4475510 or 083 440 3961 or else just arrive and buy tickets at the door from 8pm.

We are also available to perform at schools and we run quite a number of workshops at schools either as a once off (an hour or an hour and a half) or as a series of workshops. We can also be booked for Corporate functions and are often utilised for end of year work functions or product launches.

WELL, WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR? GATHER ALL YOUR FRIENDS, FAMILY AND NEIGHBOURS AND COME ON DOWN TO ARTSCAPE AND WATCH A KUNG-FU LOVE STORY SET IN A VACUUM CLEANER FACTORY ON MARS, OR LISTEN TO THE LATEST HEAVY METAL HIT OF THE UNDERTAKER'S 'ALL MADE UP AND NOWHERE TO GO' - HOPE TO SEE YOU THERE…

::Check out the official Theatresports Website::