“Clever and talented […] if you’re in the market for musical improv, you can’t go wrong here”
This is part of a series of shorter reviews from Edinburgh Fringe, August 2026.
We are greeted by a group of well-dressed young improvisers (no shoes) who welcome us to an evening of film awards – ‘The Bloopers’. The next accolade to be awarded is ‘Best Biopic’, and as a treat, the audience will get to enjoy a full showing of the film, which, coincidentally, is also a musical. This is a fully improvised piece, so comedy troupe “We’re Gonna Be A Dad” turn to the audience for suggestions on which famous person (either real or fictional) the biopic is going to be focused on. They take several suggestions, and then get the audience to vote via way of applause, after we have been treated to brief “trailers” for the films acted out on stage.
For the production that we saw, the winning suggestion was American railroad construction foreman Phineas Gage. This was a historical figure that I was previously unaware of – did it diminish my enjoyment of the show? Certainly not! After receiving their suggestion, the company turn to the audience to learn more about their subject matter, with more knowledgeable audience members explaining that Gage was renowned for being involved in a serious accident when an iron rod got lodged in his brain and caused his entire personality to change and his wife to leave him. This context not only helps to bring the actors up to speed, but also other audience members – when the “film” begins and Gage’s wife promises that there is no possible situation she can foresee that would result in their breaking up, we are all in on the joke.
The cast necessarily embellish the story, with additional characters such as ‘Old Pa’ who is looking for a new hat, and Phineas’s colleague Seamus who is also struck by an iron pole. The improvised songs throughout are of the highest quality, with impressive lyrics thought up on the spot (that actually rhyme!) and goofy choreography that helps to create some additional comedy. The show pauses halfway through to receive further suggestions of what will happen next (framed as “spoilers posted on forums”), meaning that audience feel completely involved throughout, and adding to the appreciation of how clever and talented this cast is. If you’re in the market for musical improv, you can’t go wrong here.
Tom Morley, August 2026
“The Bloopers! An Improvised Musical Biopic” plays at 16:10 at the temple, C ARTS, C aquila until 16th August.
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