You are in charge of what you watch in Showstopper!, an improvised stage musical that has garnered rave reviews and awards in its native London. In Hong Kong until Sunday 18, the show allows the audience to suggest story lines, characters, setting, and music from which the singing and dancing crew of performers have one hour to build a musical around.

This often results in unpredictable shows that are simultaneously hilarious and ridiculous, but according to co-creator and performer Dylan Emery the latter is usually a result of the crew’s antics rather than audience suggestions. “I’d say most of the weirdness is our fault. The audiences actually give really good, and serious, ideas,” says the stage veteran who has acted and directed in musicals for many years. “It’s usually because we’re trying so hard to not just be funny, but to make a good musical, that leads to the weird and zany shows.” He cites one particular occasion when he had to portray a roller skating nun, or another time as a hunchbacked Roman slave owner. “Imagine doing that while trying to sing a song that sounds like it was written by Andrew Lloyd Webber,” he says. “It’s madness.”

The other co-creator and performer, Adam Meggido, says they get more ambitious as they do more shows: “This is some of the toughest improvisation we’ve ever had to do.” That’s saying a lot for someone who once led the way in a 50-hour improvised marathon (called the improvathon) in London. “This is harder because we have to work with a team. It’s one thing to come up with stuff on your own, it’s another to do it with a group of five or six others,” he says.

To prepare for these antics, Emery, Meggido and the crew—made up of improvisers from all over the UK—often rehearse by learning musical structures as well as coming up with lyrics on the fly. “I’ll strum my guitar and say a first line, and then everyone has to continue with the song making up lyrics,” explains Emery. “We’ve had several West Side Story style sing-offs as a result.”

The two reckon they will probably be facing a crowd here with more cultural differences than in Europe, where they’ve held most of their shows. But they’re up for the challenge. “We’re always looking for new and inspired things to do a musical about,” says Emery. “So bring it on.” Meggido adds: “There is no point in doing improv if isn’t better than the scripted stuff.”

And judging by the acclaim the show has garnered, their stuff reads better than the script.

Ben Sin

Showstopper! The Improvised Musical runs until Sunday 18 at the Drama Theatre, Hong Kong Academy for Performing Arts.