The Vancouver Improv Festival is returning for the 26th year, featuring 17 shows and dozens of veteran performers from North America and Europe. Troupes from London, Oslo, San Francisco, Portland, Bellingham, Toronto, and Vancouver will take the stage at The Clutch and Tightrope Theatres from October 1 to 6, 2024.

“The local improv community in Vancouver is a very strong scene, but there are countless incredible improv communities across the globe. Festivals are the way that we connect across cities, exchange ideas, and in turn, make our local communities stronger,” says Festival Organizer Amy Shostak.

The festival will feature a duo from Norway’s Det Andre Teatret (The Other Theatre), the largest improv theatre in Scandinavia and one of Europe’s busiest. In Flashback, improvisers Mats Eldøen and Kristine Grændsen tinker with time travel. They start by telling a fairly straightforward story but can be sent back in time at any moment. Can they leap and still make it all make sense?

UK’s Derek’s Mojo is swapping the proverbial British stiff upper lip for a slew of Questionable Behavior. Two veteran improvisers, the Comedy Store Players regular Monica Gaga and stage and screen veteran Jodyanne Fletcher Richardson, promise to deliver an evening of exploded truths, twisted tropes, taboos and other unmentionables.

With the popularity of true crime documentaries and podcasts, is it any wonder the genre has also migrated to improv? Upfront Theatre from Bellingham, Washington, is performing Hellingham, a murder mystery to catch a local killer; Portland, Oregon’s Nancy Boys step into the shoes of 1920s crime-fighting darlings in their parody of The Hardy Boys; and Vancouver’s Tightrope Theatre gives a nod to another beloved bygone mystery program in Murder She Improvised.

“Because improv is created in the moment, we’re never exactly sure what might happen on stage. I think for audiences that can be a bit destabilizing, so having a show inspired by their favourite literary genre or playwright or tv show, can be the way into improv as an art form,” says Shostak.

Check the Vancouver Improv Festival website for the complete line-up, including dates and times.