Little Lark of London

Avocado Presents: An Improvised Play, created and performed by Hamza Mohsin and Jake Migicovsky, is a show with a title that describes exactly what it is. Mohsin and Migicovsky, also known as Avocado Improv, will spend the hour putting on an improvised piece of work straight out of their own minds, with no warmup games or suggestions from the audience. In a world where audience suggestions and crowdwork have become the norm thanks to social media, it’s quite an interesting choice. 

Walking into 21Soho, audience members are greeted with a very casual setup. The two comedians are wandering around the room, personally welcoming everyone and encouraging them to have a seat on the chairs and couches that have been set up in the basement room. It’s a lovely little setting for an improv show, especially one with only two cast members. At this particular performance, the show had a ten-minute delay before it started, leaving only fifty minutes for the improvised play itself. 

At the top of the show, Mohsin and Migicovsky introduce themselves, explaining the concept of the show before music plays and the performance begins. Tonight’s setting? A McDonald’s, where a young man (Migicovsky) is on his first day of work, being supervised by his uncle (Mohsin), the manager of the fast-food restaurant. Audience members follow the two throughout their day, interacting with customers and even their enemies working at the cinema across the street. 

The choice that Mohsin and Migicovsky make to have the entire show be based in the same location with the same characters (save for a few minutes of other characters getting involved) is a bit of a disappointing one, as the two performers are stuck with what they have given themselves, regardless of whether it’s getting laughs or not. It would have been interesting two see two or three different scenes with wildly different settings and characters, allowing for Mohsin and Migicovsky to show off their skills and bounce off of one another.

Ultimately, Avocado Presents: An Improvised Play is a show with a fun concept, but loses quite a bit of steam with only two actors performing what feels like one scene going on for the entire hour. Mohsin and Migicovsky are both talented comedians who are able to work well with one another, though some variety may improve the show as a whole. 

Avocado Presents: An Improvised Play on 10 October at 21Soho. For more information on the group and to purchase tickets, click here.