Battle of WITs is probably one of the safest bets for a good time at the Fringe (or any other time, really). This version of improvised theatre pits three teams against each other in five rounds of short-form improv games.

When Theatresports (as we call it in my home town, which also happens to be its birthplace) is good, it’s a riot, and when it’s bad, the scene only lasts two minutes, so there is no risk of realising, eight minutes into a play, that the next 75 minutes (and the price of admission) are a write-off.

The Unexpectables emerged victorious on Sunday night, and they are very sharp, so keep an eye out for them in the semi-finals (this is a tournament with top teams advancing every week).

There were some sloppy moments (where I come from, you don’t get to go fishing for second and third suggestions from the audience if you don’t like the first one!) but the crowd didn’t mind, and from where I was sitting it looked as though everyone was thoroughly enjoying the evening.

There isn’t much else to say, since next week will be totally different, but I will take a moment to tip my hat to the many talented female improvisers I have seen in Wellington in the last week. Comedy and improv are often dominated by men, and a strong female cohort is not just a promising sign of increasing freedom from conventional gender roles: it also greatly enriches the content of the show, because it opens up so many more narrative and theatrical possibilities. 
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