Lisa Allan reviews PopRox Improv, at Little Andromeda, Saturday 14 June, 2025.
It is Saturday night and the foyer at Little Andromeda is packed with punters who have come out in force to see the Wellington improv comedy troupe, PopRox, perform. It is not surprising to see a cohort from Christchurch’s own professional improv troupe, the Court Jesters, amongst the crowd. Improvisors in Aotearoa form a strong community, made so in no small part by the existence of an annual industry festival (the New Zealand Improv Festival) where practitioners come together to network, share skills, and co-create. The result is inter-city (and country) relationships and an environment of support and positivity.
The doors open and the audience take their seats. Musician Lia Kelly expertly judges when to begin, and she comes in hot, banging out a tune on her keyboard while introducing our MC for the evening, Tara McEntee. It is the first time I have seen the musician take responsibility for the intro, and I like it. Tara is a charming, grounded MC who woos the audience with Christchurch-isms and connects us to the performers by revealing that they were all born in the South Island.
The conceit for the show is that the company will be telling us one story throughout the evening (referred to as ‘long form’ in the biz), and we, the audience, will be called upon to contribute to this. The cast file onto the stage and an all-in game reminiscent of Guess Who? ensues, wherein audience members sit down if they, for example, had Nutri-Grain for breakfast, or own a hand-knitted something and personally know the knitter (my cue to sit).
Finally, one audience member remains and they guide Tara’s search through another audience member’s offered-up book, landing on the phrases “Will your son also pay the fine?” and “He’s a good boy.” These lines become inspiration for the performers, who spring into action using a narrative technique called ‘scene painting.’ One by one they describe a used car yard, a basketball court with parking tickets fluttering in the breeze, a wind turbine in the distance, and a graffitied fresco of the world.
Dylan Hutton takes on the role of Les, an older gentleman who has never left the car yard and spends his time typing out parking tickets, drowning his sadness with coffee, and yearning for reconnection with his son. Dylan’s character work is exceptional, with his voice, physicality and commitment to Les’s psychology being genuine yet truly funny. As the story unfolds, we learn that Les prefers old-fashioned technology because he was once scammed through the internet and this has resulted in him being hugely in debt. Les’s son, the naïve Les Junior (Isaac Thomas), in an effort to pay his dad’s bills, has fallen in with a dubious Year 13 at his school, Whitney (Tara), who is secretly in cahoots with Les Senior’s scammer. She plans to mine the land under the car yard for natural resources to fund the purchase of Beatles memorabilia.
The cast weave a few classic improv ‘short form’ games/scene types into their long form story, which don’t much advance the narrative but the audience seem to very much enjoy. My favourite of these ‘inserts’ is the song that Isaac is cheekily set up to sing in order to reveal his emotions. He relishes in the opportunity to improvise lyrics and does so with earnest competence, creating a touching moment of pathos and a strong platform for the delightful Austin Harrison and Dylan to each add in strands of overlapping lyrics. The performer yet to be mentioned is Millie Osbourne, who beautifully demonstrates the art that is supporting your fellow improvisors without needing to advance your own storyline.
The company work together with a relaxed ease that is a joy to experience. Getting all of the strands in an improvised story to tie up and having everything make sense is super hard. While the narrative in this show has a few holes in it, the moments of silliness and play, the performers skills as engaging entertainers, and the atmosphere created in the room more than make up for it.
PopRox are a generous, playful and positive improv force. Joining them for a performance is sure to bring a smile to your face and warm your heart. Hopefully they come back to Ōtautahi soon!
PopRox Improv played at Little Andromeda Friday 13 – Saturday 14 June, 2025.
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