CSzUK is heading back for our 16th Edinburgh Fringe this month! This year we're performing two shows, ComedySportz and The Totally Improvised Musical, every day from the 3rd-16th August. We're proud to once again be part of the Free Festival, giving audiences more opportunities to access shows whilst also making performances sustainable for performers.
We'll also be making guest appearances in other shows across the festival, including our friends at Comedy Club 4 Kids. Be sure to follow our adventures on social media for all the latest news!
ComedySportz (Ages 7+)
Our players have ironed their kits and sharpened their wits for two weeks of all action, all star fun and games for all ages! Every ComedySportz match will see two teams go for gold with improvised gags and games - who wins? YOU decide!
This year we are joined by more players from other ComedySportz teams than ever before. If you're looking for family friendly fun at the fringe, this is one fixture you won't want to miss.
"...skilled and funny with a remarkable ability to think on their feet." Three Weeks ****
Venue: Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters - The Live Room (Venue 272)
Every night is opening night as our team of improvisers compose a brand new comedy musical based on your title suggestions. If you like musicals, and you like comedy, then you'll love The Totally Improvised Musical!
"This Totally Improvised Musical certainly entertained and satisfied its audience and showed every sign of being able to do it again, and again, and again, and…." Buxton Fringe Review
Venue: Laughing Horse @ The Three Sisters - The Live Room (Venue 272)
As mentioned above, both shows are part of the Free Festival. Audiences can guarantee a seat with a Pay What You Want ticket starting from £5 or take a chance on the day and make a donation at the end (if you can afford to do so). These options help to give audiences more access to the arts whilst also ensuring that shows are sustainable for performers. You can book tickets directly from the Edinburgh Fringe Website or the Edfringe App (available on Apple and Android devices).
Please note: tickets go off sale half an hour before that day's show is scheduled to begin, however, that doesn't necessarily mean it has sold out and you may still be able to get in!
OH WE DO LOVE TO BE BESIDE THE SEASIDE… We are delighted to be returning to Brighton Fringe Festival this month! Join us for a bank holiday weekend jam-packed with gags and games for all ages! Our players have ironed their kits and sharpened their wits. Join them for a weekend of award-winning competitive comedy action for all ages. Who wins? YOU decide!
Don't miss the festival's funniest fixture and book your tickets today! We want to make sure that big festival's like the Brighton Fringe are financially accessible to audience - whilst being financially viable for artists - so we have a few ticketing options for 2023. You can book an advance ticket or take a chance and turn up on the day - donations welcome. Advance tickets are on a Pay What You Want basis starting from £5.
You can catch us at Laughing Horse @ The Walrus (Basement Room) daily at 2.45pm from the 27th to the 29th of May. Book your advance tickets here.
Follow us as we #JourneyIntoFringe on social media where we'll be posting about our adventures every day. Brighton is the one of several upcoming big festival appearances for us this year. The Totally Improvised Musical heads to Buxton Fringe this July. Then ComedySportz returns once again to the Edinburgh Fringe this August! Sign up to our mailing list for regular updates on all of our upcoming shows, workshops and events.
We're a week into our 2022 Edinburgh Fringe run and excited to be back at the world's biggest arts festival! We have two matches a day; Venue 170 The Counting House (Ballroom) at 1pm and Venue 272 The Three Sisters (Maggie's Chambers) at 3.15pm! You can guarantee a seat with a pay what you can ticket starting from £5 or take a chance on the day for any remaining seats - donations welcome.
You can follow our Fringe adventure via on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok - the official partner app of the Fringe using the hashtags #EdFringe, #FringeMoments and #ComedySportz! We're posting daily diaries of our time at the Fringe on our TikTok channel. Here's some of what we've been up to so far!
We're at the Edinburgh Fringe until 20th August 2022. We're delighted to be joined from ComedySportz players from teams around the world for some all action, all improvised fun and games. We hope to see you at the festival but if you can't make it this year we'll be back in Manchester and the North West soon with plenty more shows!
We're delighted to be back at the Edinburgh Fringe this summer for three weeks of all action, all improvised fun and games! With two shows a day, and visiting players from worldwide ComedySportz teams, we're thrilled to be back at the world's largest arts festival.
You can catch us at The Counting House (Fringe Venue 170) at 1pm and The Three Sisters (Fringe Venue 272) at 3.15pm every day between 4th-20th August. Shows last approx. 50 minutes. Every show is different and great fun for all ages.
We'll also be making guest appearances at other shows across the festival - details to be announced soon.
Never seen a ComedySportz match before? Two teams go for gold with quick-witted gags, games, sketches and songs inspired by your suggestions. It's completely unscripted and fun for everyone. There's a referee on hand to ensure a good clean match and YOU decide who wins!
Tickets Available Now!
As always, we're back with the Free Festival because we believe in making theWe Fringe affordable for audiences. New for 2022, we also have any extra Pay What You Can option to help audiences secure seats in advance. After all, there's nothing worse than running from New Town to Old Town to catch a show only to find out it's full! Tickets start at £5.
However, you'll still be able to turn up to venues on the day if you'd prefer to make a bucket donation on the way out. And if you can't spare a few quid - it is the free festival after all - then instead you could say something nice about the show on social media, leave a review on the Fringe website or help spread word of mouth.
You can book tickets direct from the Edinburgh Fringe website. There is no official Fringe app this year but The Free Festival has their own app allowing you to plan your visit, find shows and book tickets (only available on the Apple Store). You can also check out Plan My Fringe to make the most of your time at the festival.
Can't make it to the Fringe this year? You can still catch our monthly online match on Saturday 6th August. You can watch our online shows free via our youtube channel - subscribe now and never miss a match!
Finally, don't forget to follow our adventures at the Fringe on social media. We'll be posting on our Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok accounts with what we're getting up to plus any last minute announcements.
Our ComedySportz match this Saturday (20th March) marks one year of online shows since the world first went into Lockdown last spring. We hope you'll join us for this very special match with a very special guest player!
Never seen a ComedySportz match before? Two teams go for comedy gold with quick-witted gags and games inspired by your suggestions. It's an all action, all improvised competitive comedy show for all ages with a referee ensuring a good clean match! Who wins? YOU decide! Shows stream every Wednesday and Saturday at 7pm GMT via our youtube channel. Subscribe today and never miss a match!
Last year we had no choice but to "Yes, And" the situation and since then we've done nearly 150 online shows and performed to audiences all over the world. Thank you to everyone that has supported us and laughed with us during this time. This past year has seen plenty of challenges but also, hopefully, plenty of laughs as well.
Our players have kept innovating and inspiring with their creativity and commitment to fun and laughter. We asked some of our players and fans to share what a year of laughs in lockdown has meant to them.
Bron refs our very first online show overcoming new and exciting technical problems!
BRON EDGE:
The team really came together to figure out how we could keep connected to our fans. I love this new connectivity we have to the audience, and how our audience can also chat with each other about the show.... or whatever else they are thinking! I'm going to miss that when we are back on a stage, at least I hope people aren't going to be chatting through the show...
It has been lovely to see the spirit of Yes And seep into the audience as well, one audience member even found out that another desperately wanted a specific jumper knitted... and they knitted it for them!
JOHN COOPER:
Its amazing to see how the online shows have develop in the last year. From the beginnings of figuring out zoom and how well a show could even work, to experimenting and finding great new games that really only work online like Art Critic and Story Draw....where I get to draw.....what's not to like ??
KATE McCABE:
I think it's highlighted how important is is to be agile. Not just as an improviser but as a person. One positive is that people have been agile WITH us. Joining us on YouTube and cheering us on while we try new games and keep the good times rolling.
Ben and housemate Harry during a live show!
BEN HODGE:
Starting with ComedySportz online has been such an interesting challenge! Adapting to this new way of performing has been eye-opening and also loads of fun. It has given me the chance to play with so many different people who I may not have had a chance to meet and improvise with otherwise. It's great for connecting with our international friends and having the opportunity to play with them!
SEAN MASON:
Even though lockdown has kept us apart, going online has kept us connected to our CSz Worldwide family and fans. The last year has shown just how positive a force improvisation can be as it gives us the tools and creative mindset to solve problems and adapt. It has been a real joy to keep doing shows and workshops online - a lifeline really.
Being able to develop new games, new ways of playing and connecting has actually been really fun. I am ready to get back into live shows soon though!
Dalu never fails to surprise with his endless supply of wigs.
DALU THEBE:
From starting Comedysportz Manchester most if not all my matches have been played online. This I have found useful in practices, getting to know new games and particularly in allowing me to use and gather props, something that perhaps wouldn't have happened in live shows. (EDITOR'S NOTE: We're not sure if Dalu is going to manage without his trusty Marge Simpson wig. We're not sure the audience will either).
The technology has allowed the show to continue throughout lockdown and has been a constant source of much needed fun and silliness.
Felix getting his team into trouble for timing Chris Tavner's refereeing!
FELIX JANEWAY:
Performing online has shown me that improv is liquid. It has the ability to fill whatever space we give it, and virtual space has offered us new nooks to play in; using backgrounds, props, music and video to make multi-layer jokes which aren't possible in other formats.
I play with Comedysportz for connection and that aspect has not only been unchanged, it has broadened to include connection to anyone anywhere (technology permitting).
The main challenge I have faced is not being able to perform with members of the troupe who are unable to play online, but it has been brilliant to get into the nitty gritty of the structure of the match, the roles which support the match and all the technology we can use to support it.
Even online we've still been able to make use of audience volunteers.
LUCY RYAN (FAN):
We started watching the online Comedysportz shows when they started back in March 2020 – and they have been what has kept us going throughout lockdown. In the misery of lockdown the Comedysportz shows have been the one thing that have always been guaranteed to make us all (adults and children alike) laugh. Laugh out loud, real belly laughs., laugh until we are crying. The humour is genuinely warm – never unkind or mean-spirited – and the shows are deliberately accessible to as wide a range of people as possible. But more than just making us laugh, the Comedysportz shows have created a community; you always know you can show up and “join in". In a year where social interaction had been so lacking THAT is more valuable than I can describe. Thank you everyone at Comedysportz.
JOAN MYERS (FAN):
My husband Jeff and I have been fans of CSz Buffalo in USA since 2006. We had the honor of seeing Manchester perform at the World Championships in Philadelphia in 2019. They are a very talented group. When the pandemic hit and closed everything we started watching Buffalo on ZOOM. We then started to find other ComedySportz cities to watch. Manchester is our go to since it is on at 2 pm our time. We love it because we get to see several games not played in Buffalo. My favorite is Karaoke. We think everyone is very funny and look forward to our Wednesdays and Saturdays. We also love their take on Star Trek. That is totally hilarious!! Although we really haven’t met most of them personally, we love them all and consider them friends. Will miss seeing the shows when live performances start back. (EDITOR'S NOTE: Don't worry, even when live shows return we're going to keep doing online shows as well).
Hit the video above to catch this Saturday's anniversary match. We are delighted to be joined by CSz founder Dick Chudnow. Dick started ComedySportz in the USA in 1984 and we're very excited to have him join us for this online match.
The stream goes live at 6.45pm GMT and the match kicks off at 7pm GMT. As always our online shows are family friendly and free to watch - however donations are gratefully received and go directly to our players.
All being well, our return to live shows with distanced audiences is now only a couple of months away but we'll be continuing with our online shows and workshops too. Subscribe to our newsletter for regular updates on all of our upcoming online and live events. Got a favourite memory of our online shows? We'd love to hear from you!
