Little Lark of London

“Bigger – the only note we’ll never get!”

Hosted by Brennan Lee Mulligan and Izzy Roland, BIGGER! is a long-form improvisational comedy show that invites special guests to come up with a range of scenes based on stories provided by a guest monologist. This performance’s special guests were Ally Beardsley, Siobhan Thompson, Lou Wilson and Zac Oyama, who all star in the hit Dungeons & Dragons show, Dimension 20, and the guest monologist was Matthew Holness, an English comedian known for creating and playing horror author Garth Marenghi.

The show follows the classic rules of long-form improv, with performers tapping one another out to switch roles and one performer running across the stage to end a scene. At the start of each scene, the audience members were invited to shout out suggestions of literally anything, which led to the first suggestion being “Animal control,” which was then expanded upon by Holness. While I enjoyed the improv itself, I sometimes struggled to enjoy Holness’s work as a monologist. He had a tendency to go off on tangents and ramble a bit, which led to a lack of details in his stories, typically a key component of long-form improv scenes. I would have preferred to hear more stories from the audience in a similar fashion to Ben Schwartz’s Ben Schwartz & Friends, which does a great job of operating even without a monologist. 

Mulligan tends to take charge, attempting to keep control over the chaos of six comedians improvising on ridiculous subjects like cheese and killer dogs. However, he still participates in the chaos, including a great bit where he plays a dog with a sword, chasing the others around the stage. A highlight of the show was when Beardsley took on the role of a janitor in a school in the UK who had somehow ended up fighting in Vietnam with the Americans, leading to being honoured with the Purple Heart medal, which injured soldiers from the United States receive. It was such a bizarre moment that led to some loud laughs, though it was certainly not the most bizarre moment in the show – that would probably have to go for Oyama playing a sheep and getting beaten up by Mulligan.

As an American, I was able to understand all of the references being made to American culture throughout the show, including Twinkies, American football, the National Rifle Association, CVS and the Purple Heart medal. Unfortunately, I heard many people around me whispering in confusion, particularly in the scene involving Beardsley’s character receiving a Purple Heart medal for fighting in Vietnam even though they were a British citizen on holiday. 

Ultimately, BIGGER! With Brennan and Izzy is a fun show that allows some talented comedians to show off their skills in front of an adoring audience. I would have preferred that there was no monologist, instead letting the audience come up with the stories told on stage, but the six performers do a great job of working with what Holness has given them. 

BIGGER! With Brennan and Izzy ran on 19 April at the Hackney Empire.