When children run out to play in an open space the first thing they do is set boundaries: a bag for one end of the goal, a coat for the other; that line of trees will be the sideline and ‘if you kick the ball over the fence you’re out’. Scriptless theatre works in the same way.

We have an open space, the stage (and on this occasion the charming set for The Cat in the Hat); we have the players, and fresh young players they are (Kathleen Burns, Rhiannon McCall, Ben Ashby, Brendon Bennetts, and musical director, Hamish Oliver); now we need some boundaries.

Structure is imposed by an omnipotent ‘Boss’ who is heard but not seen. He issues instructions to follow; they are headlined on the wall and each player has a folded sheet that contains more specific guidelines: “You will perform a sketch in which one player is sitting at all times, one is standing, and one is lying. The players can change position but someone always has to be sitting, someone to be standing, and someone to be lying.”

The Early Early Late Show is called a Comedy for the Whole Family and it lives up to its name.

There’s a good wallop of audience interaction. On my night one young girl, Isabella, a thespian in the making, becomes a unicorn and has an experience she’ll remember all her life. The show has a sound frame which combines interactive and individual elements, allowing for each member of the cast to shine.

The troupe is like a family: they work well together; they are mutually supportive and maintain a positive co-operative energy. As in most groupings, a natural leader emerges and that is the talented Kathleen Burns, an alpha personality who is never short of a word or gesture when required.

Sketch themes include ‘hype’, ‘true love’, and ‘House Party’. One subject, ‘People’s Voice’, uses a collection of one-liners penned by audience members before the show. These lines are scattered on the stage for players to use at critical times in a makeshift ‘story’ whose genre is determined by the audience.

It’s an animated form of the old parlour game ‘Consequences’ and holds tremendous potential for creative players: how to link and cross-link seemingly random messages and make sense of the nonsensical (a metaphor for life). I could imagine an entire improvisational show based on this technique. The cast does well, bearing in mind that they are receiving these messages at the same time as the audience, and it takes courage and skill to draw significance from them. I enjoy this sketch and would love to see it go further (which is not to detract from what the performers do and I acknowledge they have some fine moments in the sketch). 

Improvisation is a demanding art and to be ‘on’ in fresh scenarios for seventy minutes is a significant creative challenge. The cast comes to the party, everyone adds to the overall effect and they are ably supported by the humble Hamish Oliver on keyboards who is excellent – creating mood and atmosphere without drawing undue attention to himself or his art.

Would I recommend the The Early Early Late Show? I certainly would. I didn’t want to go out in the cold. My window-wipers squidged on their speediest mode as the car cut through snow-grit on the icy roads to the theatre. But though it was one of the coldest nights of the winter I felt warm and enriched going home.

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