It’s often said that laughter is the best medicine and, Hoopla, the UK’s first improv theatre, are injecting comedy into the current crisis with online improv classes for those on lockdown.

Following the cancellation of their normal workshops and the delay to their annual improv festival, the company have created online drop-in sessions, bringing improvisation to your living- room-turned-home-office. Packed with 100s of improv games from their regular courses, as well as interactive scenes, the focus is on having fun and letting yourself go in this troubled time - surviving lockdown through improv.

Hoopla was founded with the idea of bringing people together through improv and, at a time of social distancing, it’s more important than ever to maintain interaction and stay connected for your mental health. A real confidence-boosting experience, Hoopla aims to stretch your mind as well as your perspective.

Improv classes are one of the fastest growing hobbies sweeping the UK. Starting as a weekly workshop above a pub in Balham, Hoopla are now the UK's biggest improv school and usually run multiple courses every night of the week in venues across Central London as well as regularly running corporate workshops to clients including Google, Facebook, and Accenture.

Steve Roe, Director of Hoopla, comments, Entertainment before TV was communal with music halls, dance halls and my Grandad on pub piano. I previously thought of video calls as just for super awkward job interviews, but with some experiments we found we could have loads of fun with it. People can play different characters, students can create costumes using whatever they have in their house, props can be gathered from the kitchen. It’s meant that people from around the world can join us. There are a lot of people sat at home with nobody to talk to, and improv is giving people the chance to come together (virtually) and play and have a laugh for a couple of hours. We are even going to have a virtual songs around the piano night like my Grandad.

This is also happening across the wider improv UK scene, with The Maydays and The Nursery also working together to provide online classes.

Liz Peters, of The Nursery and The Maydays, added, We are improvisers. We adapt and grow and fail and learn and build. And we spread joy. So this is just one way we will ‘Yes and’ this situation. As the world begins to isolate, the need for human connection is greater than ever! They’re calling it ‘social distancing’ right now. Let’s change that terminology to ‘physical distancing’. We are and always will be social animals; connection is part of our survival and last night proved that it is still very possible and still very fun. So come and join the ride.

Surviving the lockdown through Improv
Hoopla Improv Theatre
Wednesday 25th March – Saturday 2nd May 2020

Drop-in dates
Wednesday 25th March 2020, 7pm – 9pm Thursday 26th March 2020, 7pm – 9pm Saturday 28th March 2020, 2pm – 4pm Monday 30th March 2020, 7pm – 9pm Tuesday 31st March 2020, 7pm – 9pm Wednesday 1st April 2020, 7pm – 9pm Thursday 2nd April 2020, 7pm – 9pm Saturday 4th April 2020, 2pm – 4pm Monday 6th April 2020, 7pm – 9pm Tuesday 7th April 2020, 7pm – 9pm Wednesday 8th April 2020, 7pm – 9pm Thursday 9th April 2020, 7pm – 9pm Tuesday 14th April 2020, 7pm – 9pm Wednesday 15th April 2020, 7pm – 9pm Thursday 16th April 2020, 7pm – 9pm Saturday 18th April 2020, 2pm – 4pm Monday 20th April 2020, 7pm – 9pm Tuesday 21st April 2020, 7pm – 9pm Wednesday 22nd April 2020, 7pm – 9pm Thursday 23rd April 2020, 7pm – 9pm Saturday 25th April 2020, 2pm – 4pm Monday 27th April 2020, 7pm – 9pm Tuesday 28th April 2020, 7pm – 9pm Wednesday 29th April 2020, 7pm – 9pm Thursday 30th April 2020, 7pm – 9pm Saturday 2nd May 2020, 2pm – 4pm

£10 18+
Online using Zoom. All details for login for Zoom will be emailed to participants on the day of the workshop
@HooplaImpro, #hooplaimpro
www.hooplaImpro.com

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