Notflix

As improvised stage shows go, they’re a dime a dozen, though there is one thing that can be said for sure: this art form is far from easy. Tonight, the all-female cast of Notflix put on a successful show that is as funny as it is smart.

As the audience waits, Notflix’s live band plays recognisable contemporary classics, revving up the crowd, who are requested at the start of the show to write the last film they saw together with a short summary. The slips of paper are placed in the “bucket of destiny”, whereby two are selected, whittled down to one through democratic voting of loudest cheer. For this performance, it’s between the recent film starring an almost unrecognisable Christian Bale as Dick Cheney in Vice, and winning 1972 classic The Godfather.

The cast of six do a brilliant job re-enacting the famous orange scene, where Vito Corleone buys fruit before he is ambushed. From the get go, the performers prove they have the versatility to churn out numerous improvised songs, each actor feeding off the other’s lines. Particular stand-out performances come from Aisling-Groves McKeown as the crooked leaning mafia leader Don Vito Corleone, Emma Read’s love interest Sandra, Holly Mallett as melancholic Sonny, and gang member Clare Buckingham; it is pretty clear Katie Pritchard is new, and her piece would have fared better if she performed more.

Some of the cast had seen The Godfather a long time ago, making their improvisation even more impressive; in some parts it is so funny the ensemble could barely contain their laughter, spurring the audience to chuckle even more. As nice as this is, the dialogue is lost amidst the group’s giggles, and the show would have been better off with the use of microphones. On the whole, the company’s mime and spontaneous songs pay off, and for this group of incredibly talented women, and as each improvised show is different, Notflix is well worth seeing.

Selina Begum

Notflix is at the Crescent from 6^th until 10^th March 2019. For further information or to book visit the show’s festival page here.

Read more reviews from our Vault Festival 2019 coverage here.

For further information about the event visit the Vault Festival website here.

Watch the trailer for Notflix here:

https://youtu.be/lhfeEYH8Ey4