Vancouver TheatreSports League effectively skewers fantasy with Throne and Games

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      At the Improv Centre on Thursday, April 16. Continues until through May and June

      The Vancouver TheatreSports League business model seems to be to take a popular TV show that’s entered the zeitgeist and build a parody around it. Makes sense. Fans that can’t get enough of the program will flock to the Improv Centre on Granville Island to see the troupe’s twisted take on their favourite thing.

      For me, it’s usually the opposite. I see the comedy version and that gets me interested enough to check out the original. So it is with Throne and Games, their takeoff on HBO’s hit series, Girls. Wait, what? No, that actually was Artistic Associate (and Samwell Tarly portrayer) Nathan Clark’s opening joke; it really lampoons the fantastical Game of Thrones. Duh.

      What I knew about the HBO series going in was castles, swords, knights, dragons, costumes, beards, and nudity. Did I miss anything? The improv version had all of the above, minus the female nudity (a shirtless Allen Morrison as Drogo and the porn mustache on emcee Baelish [Graeme Duffy] came as close as you can get for a family show).

      Duffy originally created this elimination format for another improv troupe, the Fictionals, who mounted it three times last year at the Rio Theatre and it was a huge success. As with that production, the opening night crowd was welcomed by a string quartet playing the theme to Game of Thrones while, on a screen, the back story to the upcoming show scrolled upward, all medieval-like. A throne of a thousand swords (or maybe about 40, as Duffy/Baelish figured) sat centre stage and we were introduced to the three competing families who would descend upon King’s Landing to compete for it.

      The teams took turns doing various improv games consistent with the fake Middle Ages and the crowd decided each winner. If the comedic stage version is any indication of how the series goes, winning favour with the audience isn’t a good thing. All the strongest improvisers—according to applause—were unceremoniously killed (although in this case, they would return as different characters, such as Tyrion and Brienne of Tarth).

      I could have done without a couple of overdone games (Pearce Visser as Tywin and Lauren McGibbon as Cersei talking together as one, and Denise Jones, as Khaleesi, and McGibbon in a moving bodies scene where the actors are essentially talking mannequins who can only move with the aid of an audience volunteer) but as always the actors make it or break it. And they always made it. One game highlighted Michael Teigen’s quick thinking. Individuals were encouraged to yell out, “You know nothing, Jon Snow!” and ask any question in the world they wanted to. He was challenged with the best way to cook rice, win over a mother-in-law from another clan, and the age-old “Why is the sky blue?” His answer: “Because if it were green, you wouldn’t know when to stop mowing.”

      Ultimately, a champion is crowned. And unlike the subjective criteria from earlier on, this comes after a clear-cut, physical battle. The two finalists do a scene while trying to snatch the crown off the other’s head. On this evening, Clark (as Sam) defeated Jones (as Khaleesi), thanks to a height and reach advantage. But any one of them could have gained the coveted throne based on laughs.

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