The Comedy Store Players
Encyclopedia
The Comedy Store Players is a group of improvising comedy performers known for their performances at The Comedy Store
in London
. The group first came into being in October 1985.
Members of the group have included:
Currently there are seven regular cast members; Josie Lawrence
, Paul Merton
, Neil Mullarkey
, Lee Simpson
, Andy Smart
, Jim Sweeney and Richard Vranch
. Sweeney retired from performing in 2008 but is still listed as a member and is also the group's President.
The Players perform twice a week, Wednesday and Sunday, usually with a combination of six out of the seven regulars, although occasionally a guest performer will appear such as Niall Ashdown
, Marcus Brigstocke
, Stephen Frost
, Eddie Izzard
, Greg Proops
, Steve Steen
and Phill Jupitus
. Shows start at 8pm and last approximately 2 hours, in which time they play 6 or 7 games. Games are longer than ones seen on television but this gives the cast more room and time to develop a concept.
Usually, the games are:
Several of The Comedy Store Players appeared on the Channel 4
comedy game show Whose Line Is It Anyway?
, though of the seven regulars named above, only Andy Smart
hasn't appeared on the show.
The Comedy Store, London
The Comedy Store is a comedy club located in Soho, London, England, opened in 1979 by Don Ward and Peter Rosengard.It was named after The Comedy Store club in the United States, which Rosengard had visited the previous year...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. The group first came into being in October 1985.
Members of the group have included:
- Dave Cohen
- Jeremy HardyJeremy HardyJeremy James Hardy is a British alternative comedian who is also known for his socialist politics.-Career:Hardy was born in Farnborough, Hampshire. He attended Farnham College and studied Modern History and Politics at the University of Southampton...
- Kit Hollerbach
- Josie LawrenceJosie LawrenceJosie Lawrence is a British comedienne and actress best known for her work with the Comedy Store Players improvisational troupe, the television series Whose Line Is It Anyway? and more recently her role as Manda Best in EastEnders....
- Paul MertonPaul MertonPaul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...
- Neil MullarkeyNeil MullarkeyNeil Mullarkey is an English actor, writer and comedian.Mullarkey studied at Robinson College, Cambridge; while he was there he was Junior Treasurer of the Cambridge Footlights in the academic year 1981 to 1982 and was president in the year ending 1983...
- Mike MyersMike Myers (actor)Michael John "Mike" Myers is a Canadian actor, comedian, screenwriter, and film producer of British parentage...
- Lee SimpsonLee SimpsonLee Simpson is a British actor and comedian best known as a member of the improvisational group The Comedy Store Players.He has appeared in a number of roles, including the sitcoms Terry and Julian and Drop The Dead Donkey, the films Paper Mask and Nuns On The Run, and played a key role in...
- Andy SmartAndy SmartAndy Smart is an English comedian, actor, and TV panel show participant.Andy has been performing as a guest with The Comedy Store Players for 13 years now and a permanent member since 1995. Before joining the Players he was one half of the Vicious Boys with Angelo Abela...
- Jim Sweeney
- Sandi ToksvigSandi ToksvigSandra Brigitte “Sandi” Toksvig is a Danish comedian, author and presenter on British radio and television.-Career:...
- Richard VranchRichard VranchRichard Leslie Vranch is a British comedian, actor and musician.Vranch improvises comedy on stage with the Comedy Store Players every Wednesday and Sunday at The Comedy Store in London. He has voiced British Airways TV and radio commercials since 2003, and he narrates TV documentaries...
Currently there are seven regular cast members; Josie Lawrence
Josie Lawrence
Josie Lawrence is a British comedienne and actress best known for her work with the Comedy Store Players improvisational troupe, the television series Whose Line Is It Anyway? and more recently her role as Manda Best in EastEnders....
, Paul Merton
Paul Merton
Paul Merton is a British comedian, writer, actor and television presenter. Known for his improvisation skill, his humour is rooted in deadpan, surreal and sometimes dark comedy...
, Neil Mullarkey
Neil Mullarkey
Neil Mullarkey is an English actor, writer and comedian.Mullarkey studied at Robinson College, Cambridge; while he was there he was Junior Treasurer of the Cambridge Footlights in the academic year 1981 to 1982 and was president in the year ending 1983...
, Lee Simpson
Lee Simpson
Lee Simpson is a British actor and comedian best known as a member of the improvisational group The Comedy Store Players.He has appeared in a number of roles, including the sitcoms Terry and Julian and Drop The Dead Donkey, the films Paper Mask and Nuns On The Run, and played a key role in...
, Andy Smart
Andy Smart
Andy Smart is an English comedian, actor, and TV panel show participant.Andy has been performing as a guest with The Comedy Store Players for 13 years now and a permanent member since 1995. Before joining the Players he was one half of the Vicious Boys with Angelo Abela...
, Jim Sweeney and Richard Vranch
Richard Vranch
Richard Leslie Vranch is a British comedian, actor and musician.Vranch improvises comedy on stage with the Comedy Store Players every Wednesday and Sunday at The Comedy Store in London. He has voiced British Airways TV and radio commercials since 2003, and he narrates TV documentaries...
. Sweeney retired from performing in 2008 but is still listed as a member and is also the group's President.
The Players perform twice a week, Wednesday and Sunday, usually with a combination of six out of the seven regulars, although occasionally a guest performer will appear such as Niall Ashdown
Niall Ashdown
Niall Ashdown is a comedian, actor, improvisor and writer.He has previously improvised in such television shows as Lifegame, Animo, Improbable Tales at the Nottingham Playhouse, Impropera and with the Comedy Store Players...
, Marcus Brigstocke
Marcus Brigstocke
Marcus Alexander Brigstocke is an English comedian, actor and satirist who has worked extensively in stand-up comedy, television, radio and in 2010-2011 musical theatre. He is particularly associated with the 6.30pm comedy slot on BBC Radio 4, having frequently appeared on several of its shows...
, Stephen Frost
Stephen Frost
Stephen Frost , also known as Steve Frost, is an English comedian.Frost is known for his work in the 1980s with Mark Arden as part of the double act The Oblivion Boys on Saturday Live...
, Eddie Izzard
Eddie Izzard
Edward John "Eddie" Izzard is a British stand-up comedian and actor. His comedy style takes the form of rambling, whimsical monologue and self-referential pantomime...
, Greg Proops
Greg Proops
Gregory Everett "Greg" Proops is an American actor, stand-up comedian and television host. He is widely known for his work as an improvisational comedian on the UK and U.S. versions of Whose Line Is It Anyway?...
, Steve Steen
Steve Steen
Steve Steen is a British actor and comedian best known for his improvisation partnership with Jim Sweeney.The pair met at school in London and joined a theatre club in 1972. The two then wrote and starred in a show which parodied much of the other shows being held in London that year...
and Phill Jupitus
Phill Jupitus
Phillip Christopher Jupitus is an English stand-up and improvised comedian, actor, performance poet, musician and podcaster....
. Shows start at 8pm and last approximately 2 hours, in which time they play 6 or 7 games. Games are longer than ones seen on television but this gives the cast more room and time to develop a concept.
Usually, the games are:
- Die - in which each performer takes turn to tell a story, with the audience shouting "Die" when one makes a mistake
- Freeze Tag - two performers start in positions suggested by the audience, and act out sketches. The other performers will 'tag' someone to take their position and start a new sketch
- Guess The Job - A Player leaves the room while an outrageous job is concocted. When he re-enters, he has to guess the job based on clues dropped into the sketch
- Translation - Specialist lecture from a foreign expert who doesn't speak English, so another Player translates for him
- Film & Theatre Styles - A sketch between 2 people, performed in different film and theatre styles
- Musical - A story told with song, with the Players often playing several characters
- Emotions - Another sketch between 2 people, this time changing based on different emotions suggested by the audience
- The Three Headed Expert - An interview between one person and an expert (played by three people)
Several of The Comedy Store Players appeared on the Channel 4
Channel 4
Channel 4 is a British public-service television broadcaster which began working on 2 November 1982. Although largely commercially self-funded, it is ultimately publicly owned; originally a subsidiary of the Independent Broadcasting Authority , the station is now owned and operated by the Channel...
comedy game show Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway?
Whose Line Is It Anyway? is a short-form improvisational comedy TV show. Originally a British radio programme, it moved to television in 1988 as a series made for the UK's Channel 4, for a 10 series run...
, though of the seven regulars named above, only Andy Smart
Andy Smart
Andy Smart is an English comedian, actor, and TV panel show participant.Andy has been performing as a guest with The Comedy Store Players for 13 years now and a permanent member since 1995. Before joining the Players he was one half of the Vicious Boys with Angelo Abela...
hasn't appeared on the show.