The Improv at Wanderers

Last weekend I was brave enough to plunge headlong in to Bangalore traffic. Destination: HRBR layout, Goal: figure out an Improv show. The word had always looked incomplete to me… as if it missed a tooth. Even the dictionary doesn’t accept it and I had a block towards anything which the dictionary didn’t like. Yet, it came about through a random connection and I believe that random connections lead you to random experiences. So we took off, my 15 year old and I and I was at my victorious best having been able to find an activity which wasn’t obsolete or archaic or 'old – like- mom'.

HRBR layout in Bangalore  is a newly developed plush neighbourhood in the city. Well laid out roads with no pot holes, the street bright with lights from shops and eateries and the smattering of green wherever there was scope for it; a far cry from the woeful look that most of our roads carried. I felt I was in a movie set, well, almost and something which never happens to me on Bangalore roads happened that evening- I was grinning ear to ear at the sight.

Wanderers is a brewery, a beer cafe as they call it, one among the many that the city sports these days. You enter its narrow doors and the open space which welcomes you in hits you like fresh air. The TV screen was on mute and the music played at a decibel which made life outside it still possible. There were people hanging out, some nursing beers, others, some conversation. While we were waiting at the lobby for the stage to be set up on the first floor there was entertainment in the form a dance showcase by a bunch of  enthusiastic youngsters. They all could twist and bend like elastic and it was a fascinating watch. Finally it’s when we got to our seats for the show that the real waiting started; waiting to see what the handicapped word was all about, waiting to see one of my favorite people up on stage, waiting to be taken in to the new experience. When it started there was a  host and 4 artists on stage and before we knew it  the host was among the audience warming the crowd up and getting them ready to what was planned. The format of it was simple: he would throw a topic and the audience offers him options. He chooses what will work best as an act on stage and the show starts. The options from the audience include a bunch of emotions or situations or locations as prompted by the host. Anyways, the end result was a lot of laughter; in smatterings at times but mostly the response was a  not - a - care in - the - world - bellowing from the crowd. Topics which would otherwise be touchy like race or religion or politics or social issues were deftly brought in and I am sure that all of it didn’t get washed out in the stream of laughter. I loved the energy of the artists on stage; each one adept at one aspect of comedy be it slapstick or accents or mime or clever improvisation. Together they were smooth. My favorite was the Rotate sequence where each one was given a role to enact and they switched on the host’s cue. It was hilarious. What I found inspiring was to know that they all keep regular jobs which is as intense as it is diverse and still make it possible to come together, leaving their studios and stethoscopes to "take their passion and make it happen" as the song goes! We caught up with the warmth and good vibes on stage and the evening livened up as it progressed.

Extremely refreshing, to say the least. At the end of it  the word Improv came out looking like a hero irrespective of its missing tooth. Well done, The Improv. We look forward to more of you! I don’t remember having had so much fun in just 1.5 hours, in a very long time. And I haven't seen my daughter laugh so hard. We left carrying the dregs of the laughter with us on that Sunday evening and it lasted me all through a grueling Monday. I survived the Monday and was still smiling at the end of the day. Again, don’t remember the last time that happened!