Hoopla Impro
Hoopla Impro is an improvised comedy and drama company that was founded in January 2006 by Steve Roe and Edgar Fernando. It is the UK's first improv theatre. Originally based in Balham southwest London, its shows moved to The Miller in London Bridge in 2010.
During that time it has grown to become the UK's biggest improvisation training school, teaching thousands of people every year at venues around London. It has collaborated with Google, Facebook, Apple, ITV and Imperial College, and the company has been recommended by Time Out, The Evening Standard and The Daily Telegraph.
Annual Hoopla Improv Marathon
Hoopla runs an annual non-stop show for 29 hours every September, starting from 7pm on the Friday through to midnight on Saturday. It includes over 200 performers - many of whom are present throughout - and over 50 shows.Hoopla's UK & Ireland Improv Festival
In 2019 Hoopla launched a Improv Festival in London, bringing together improvised comedy acts from around the United Kingdom and Ireland. Among the performances were The Actor's Nightmare, Music Box and The Committee.Regular Performers
The listed teams are Hoopla-produced house teams, and regular weekend show performers.| Name | Improv Type | Date Established | Members | Reference |
| The Aquarium | Short-form House Team | 2019 | Belton Flournoy, Harpreet Sandhu, Heather Burgess, Helen Page, Jake Clements, Joe Cazalet-Smith, John Pape, Kiran Shergill, Laura Gazzard, Mary C. Parker, Phillip Piggott, Rachel Edwards, Sanj Surati, Vitali Bokov | |
| The Descendants | Narrative long-form House Team | 2018 | Carly Brazier, Carsten Jung, Jess Williamson, Leo Maxwell, Lisa Ronaghan, Matt Cosgrove, Matt Sparkes, Matt Stainsby, Sarah McKinless, Sarah Wiliams, Will Sebastian, Chloe Wittet | |
| Long-form | 2010 | Rhys Collier, Tim Grewcock, Shaun Lowthian, Helen O'Donnell, Nick Oram, Matt Stevens, Christian Baker, Tom Dixon | ||
| Multiple | 2017 | Tai Campbell, Monica Gaga, Athena Kugblenu, Kemah Bob, Adam Courting, Joel Semakula, Mary Parker, Rosie Bergonzi, Joshua Jackson, Folusho Falegan | ||
| Short-form House Team | 2018 | Alastair Thomas, Chloé Dall’Olio, Charlotte Gaughan, Ellie Prowse, Euan Brown, Harriet Hughes, Harry Turnbull, Jack Turner, Jessie Rutland, Jonathan Monkhouse, Kayla Lean, Mandeep Singh, Miriam Hall, Nadine Bailey, Naomi Bowman, Stefan Prince, Stephen Wan, Unai Garcia | ||
| Improvised Sketch | 2003 | Dylan Emery, Phil Whelans, Charlotte Gittins, Alan Marriott | ||
| Long-form | 2003 | Heather Urquhart, Jen Rowe, Katy Schutte, Rebecca MacMillan, John Cremer, Liz Peters, Jules Munns, Rhiannon Vivian, Joe Samuel, Chris Mead, Lloydie James Lloyd, Jennifer Jordan, Edmund Fargher | ||
| Michelle | Long-form House Team | 2019 | Chris Rosser, Folusho Falegan, Jon Nguyen, Kate Heward, Lilla Hodossy, Liv Long, Mary Frampton, Max Marcq, Melissa Parker, Michael Kunze, Michal Banai, Paul Creasy, Reanne Farley, Sabrina Luisi, Teresa Senyah | |
| The Playground | Multiple | 2015 | Breaking & Entering: Maria Peters, Lauren Shearing. Regular guests: Rachel Parris, Suki Webster, Amy Cooke-Hodgson, Charlotte Gittins, Pippa Evans, Ruth Bratt, Briony Redman | |
| Long-form | 2008 | Conor Jatter, Luke Spillane, Tom Webster, Will Dixon, Dan Attfield, Ben Murphie, Ella Jean, Tom Bacon |
Diversity
Hoopla aim to promote diversity in improv and comedy. Hoopla host a monthly night for BAME players, run by Do The Right Scene. After a 'Crash Landing' workshop, they present a performance called 'Special Delivery'. run an LGBT 'Loud and Queer' night at Hoopla.The Playground is an all-female monthly night run by Lauren Shearing and Maria Peters's two-person improv show Breaking & Entering. In 2016 it was named by Time Out as one of "Six all-female comedy gigs not to miss this spring".
Hoopla offer a number of diversity scholarships to people who are unemployed or on low-income, students, key workers, over 60s, under 23, homeless or in sheltered accommodation or BAME.
Media coverage
Hoopla Impro's work has featured in several leading publications in the United Kingdom. In April 2014, the Evening Standard of London reported on the rise of tech workers in the city attending improvisation classes at Hoopla. In 2017, the British Comedy Guide reported how The Miller was becoming Hoopla Improv's dedicated venue, starting with a 50-hour improvisation marathon.In June 2019, author Jessica Pan wrote an article for the Guardian on her experiences from a visit to Hoopla.