TALKING TO SPONTANEOUS POTTER
For kids and big kids alike – Spontaneous Potter arrives at the Electric Theatre in Guildford this March. Grab your wands, don your house robes, and apparate yourselves to the box office pronto for a very magical improv show…
The smash hit Spontaneous Potter is an entirely improvised Harry Potter comedy play, based on an audience suggestion of a fanfiction title. Hilarity ensues as an entirely new Potter adventure is magically improvised on the spot with a live musical accompaniment. With both an adult show and kids show to choose from, we caught up with Artistic Director and cast member Will Naameh to find out about the funny business…
SPONTANEOUS POTTER ARRIVES AT GUILDFORD’S ELECTRIC THEATRE THIS MARCH – WHAT CAN AUDIENCES EXPECT FROM THE SHOW?
Audiences can expect an entirely improvised Harry Potter comedy show based on an audience suggestion of a fanfiction title – with live musical accompaniment! The show is fast, loose, anarchic and chaotic. Expect an explosion of energy and a hurricane of wizarding world references. Some of which we will inevitably argue about onstage as we’re performing it.
WHILST YOU HAVE AN ADULT ONLY SPONTANEOUS POTTER SHOW THAT MAY HAVE A TENDENCY TO GET A LITTLE BIT NAUGHTY – YOU ALSO HAVE A DEDICATED SHOW FOR KIDS – WHAT YOU TELL US ABOUT THE SPONTANEOUS POTTER KIDZ PERFORMANCE?
Yes, it’s true, in the adult show “Voldemort” isn’t the only forbidden word we use! In the Kidz show we create a Harry Potter adventure the entire family can enjoy. We very much make the kids the heroes of the entire show, so every suggestion that gets shouted out becomes celebrated and interwoven into the narrative immediately.
WHO ARE FUNNIER AT SUGGESTIONS – THE KIDS OR THE ADULTS?
The kids, every single time. Our most recent kids show involved Ron playing Minecraft until his head fell off and Voldemort being defeated by a peanut allergy. All suggested by the kids, of course.
WHAT’S THE MOST OUTLANDISH SUGGESTION AN AUDIENCE MEMBER HAS MADE?
“Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire Safety Regulations and Risk Assessments” was a fun one.
HOW WAS THE SHOW CONCEIVED? WHAT MADE YOU WANT TO COMBINE IMPROVE COMEDY WITH THE HARRY POTTER?
The troupe started under the name Spontaneous Sherlock, performing – obviously – an improvised Sherlock Holmes comedy show. When we were looking for a second genre to improvise, Harry Potter was the obvious choice. Everyone in the team is a massive Harry Potter fan, and it seemed crazy to us that it had never been attempted in the UK before. Plus, given we are an Edinburgh-based company, and Edinburgh is the birthplace of Harry Potter, it seemed like a point of pride to do it.
HAVE YOU HAD ANY FEEDBACK FROM A CERTAIN JK ROWLING – DO YOU KNOW IF SHE’S SEEN THE SHOW?
She is certainly invited to any future shows we do! The show is very much an unofficial parody show, completely unaffiliated with JK Rowling or Warner Bros, but we do like to think she’d appreciate the… unexpected directions we take her characters in every show.
WHO’S YOUR FAVOURITE HARRY POTTER CHARACTER AND WHY?
We love playing Severus Snape. He is such an enigma he can be performed with any emotion and any point of view – and it will immediately become funny to us.
WHERE DID YOUR LOVE OF IMPROV COMEDY COME FROM?
We all met performing improv in various groups in Edinburgh about six or seven years ago. We just love creating comedy in the moment with each other, and are all far too lazy to learn lines.
FOR ANY ASPIRING COMEDIANS OUT THERE – WHAT ARE YOUR TOP TIPS FOR IMPROV?
Don’t wear heavy wizard robes like we do, it makes you unpleasantly sweaty.
SPONTANEOUS POTTER + SPONTANEOUS POTTER KIDZ
MARCH 28 / ELECTRIC THEATRE, GUILDFORD
For more information tickets, visit www.electric.theatre