Once a month in the Green Room at the Black Box a strange collection of folks gather to act out random scenarios shouted at them by members of the general public. Welcome to the wonderful world of Wonder Frog.
Wonder Frog are a 7 piece improve troop from Belfast that gives “Whose Line is it Anyway? a run for its money. Last time I saw Wonder Frog was before Christmas, since then they seem to have lost a member and gained two, one of which is Mental Def frontman Mr Majestic (street name Kieran Majury). The night starts with the troop introducing themselves, all 7 of them, and then we’re straight in with the fun and games. Anyone who’s familiar with improv comedy will know the drill, it’s comedy that is entirely made up on the spot, usually with suggestions from the audience. One game sees a member leave the room, to return as a fortune teller once the audience has suggested life events for the reading he is about to do. Then 2 of the guys have to act out (a sort of twisted charades) the life event while he plays the role of the fortune teller and guesses at the same time. It certainly took some time before he guessed that the guy was going to have a baby with was a goat and Vin Diesel! Another sees two of the Wonder Frog guys playing out a scene with a traffic warden and a ticketed motorist with two members of the public on stage to move their body parts, there were literally tears in my eyes as they finished off the scene hugging with the 2 body movers creased over in laughter.
The show runs for an hour and the games and participants are picked before they start, they’re also timed, all of which makes for well-run event and adds to the enjoyment, as no game out stays its welcome. The performers rotate too so we’re not seeing the same guys all the time. There’s even a few musical numbers thrown in to add variety to the night, the fact that these things are made up on the fly is a huge part of what makes the night funny; the Belfast crowd shouting the most random suggestions helps too. I’ve been to a few Wonder Frog shows and whilst there’s nothing revolutionary about what they’re doing, it’s great to see a Belfast troop doing it and doing it well, with a degree of professionalism that makes this a great event to take anyone to that loves comedy.
Next show is on Wed 24th April at 8pm and entry is £5. Money well spent if you like laughing.
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