Review: FIASCO at Rosemary Branch Theatre 7, 10, 16 & 23 August 2025
‘Dark fantasy improv with big promise — but too cautious to truly thrill.’ ★★
Improvisational theatre — where performers create scenes without a script, responding to audience suggestions — comes in two main flavours. Short-form improv, familiar from shows like Whose Line Is It Anyway?, features quick games with rapid-fire jokes and constant scene changes. Long-form improv is entirely different: a high-wire act that builds a single continuous narrative in real time. It asks performers to create characters, relationships, and stakes on the spot — then sustain them over the course of a full play. Done well, it's electric: a tightrope of invention where drama, comedy, and surprise, balance in the moment.
FIASCO, adapted from Bully Pulpit Games' cult tabletop RPG, sets out to bring this form to life. The premise is juicy: "complex relationships between selfish people with poor impulse control," shaped by audience suggestions. The performance I attended opened with an archivist character offering three possible story genres. The audience picked "dark, dark fantasy," and were introduced to a warlock as the narrator for the night. Audience input established three characters — a healer, a sadist and a criminal bound in a revolutionary cause, plus their shared criminal past — all tied together by the mission to resurrect the fallen Rodrick.
It's a set-up brimming with possibilities. However, the execution struggled to match the format's potential. Instead of letting chaos unfold organically, the show began by outlining extensive pre-agreed boundaries that seemed to constrain rather than liberate the performers. The result felt predetermined rather than discovered.
Characters remained frustratingly one-note, with unclear motives and little sense of genuine stakes. Scenes jumped straight into dialogue without much physicality or object work, and the stage space was used sparingly. Voice projection was inconsistent throughout, making parts of the story difficult to follow, while the lighting — dim, static, and poorly timed — did little to enhance the fantasy atmosphere.
The narrative itself grew convoluted, layering twists without grounding them in emotional or comedic tension. Ironically, the show's most engaging moments came when the performers broke character, laughed, and interacted naturally; these glimpses of genuine playfulness were far more compelling than the surrounding melodrama.
The bones of a great show are here. The tabletop RPG source material practically begs for audacious choices, and the format allows for high-stakes drama and sharp comedy. But to make FIASCO live up to its name, the troupe needs stronger projection, richer character motivations, bolder physical staging, and — crucially — the courage to embrace the messy, unpredictable spirit that makes long-form improv thrilling. In improv, chaos can't afford to feel restrained.
Fiasco by Cryptids Improvisational Theatre
Camden Fringe show
Venue: Rosemary Branch Theatre
Box Office https://camdenfringe.com/events/fiasco/
Directors: Alexandra Sophia Ashe and Annamarie Burke
Performers: Shelby Corley, Ian Chapman Black, Annamarie Burke, Manuela Roldan, Hannah Waldman
Tech: Cristiano Benfenati
