Belfast Improv Festival 2026

ABOUT THE FESTIVALThis is the fifth Belfast Improv Festival, and we're proud to once again collaborate with Improv Fest Ireland to host performing groups, individuals, and teachers from all across the world.Teaching in Belfast and Dublin this year:* Diana Brown
* Bill Cernasky
* Navaris Darson
* Betse Green
* Maro Lesioti
* Alan Pakosz
* Courtney PongEach night we'll have a number different shows - some will be comedic plays, some will be musical, and some are indescribable. What unites them is that they're all improvised on the spot.Festival VenueAll shows take place in Lavery's Bar, Bradbury Place, in the second floor comedy club. All workshops wil take place in Lavery's or in nearby workshop spaces.
........The festival was founded in 2018 by Paul Mone, director of Belfast Improv. The inaugural festival featured teams from China, Europe, the UK, US, and Ireland.

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Shows run from 7pm - 10.30pm each evening.FRIDAY 7th November7pm - Big Bang Improv (US)
7.30pm - Cloven (IE)
8.15pm - Bill & Betse (US)
8.45pm - Ghost Town (NL)
9.30pm - Polly & Paulie (IRE / US)Performer ProfilesSATURDAY 8th November7pm - Couch (UK)
7.30pm - Bear Milk (DE)
8.15pm - Crocodile Paws (FI / US)
8.45pm - Somewhat Theatre (UK)
9.30pm - Digressions (FR)Performer ProfilesSUNDAY 9th November7pm - Comediasians (UK)
7.30pm - Sonnet & Faith (US)
8.15pm - The Clones (UK)
8.45pm - The Good, The Bad, The Funny (PL)
9.30pm - Festival JamPerformer ProfilesMONDAY 10th November7pm - The Ensemble (INT)
7.30pm - Owen & Jen (UK)
8.15pm - Mixed Nuts (INT)
8.45pm - Fool's Gold (INT)Performer Profiles

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Big Bang ImprovBoston style free-form that has been wowing New England audiences and at festivals around the world for years. The entire set moves seamlessly from one scene to the next at the rate of over a scene a minute all following the group play philosophy of "follow the funny". The show builds rapidly and culminates in a series of surprising and organic callbacks done through the unique editing styling and story telling of this Boston super-team. This is a high-energy improv experience that redefines itself with every performance.About UsBig Bang is a fast-paced free-form show featuring some of the top alumni from the ImprovBoston Mainstage and Boston comedy scene. Since 2014, Big Bang has toured extensively across North America, Latin America and Europe.

Cloven
"The Crack of Dawn"Good morning and welcome to Crack of Dawn! An ode to breakfast television that uses the mechanics of artifice to reveal the messy truth. In a hyper polished world where everyone presents their best face forward, we strip off the masks of our presenters, producers and guests and see them as they really are. Our characters might be dealing with emerging scandals both private and public, workplace conflicts that bubble under the surface…or the fact that the wrong biscuits are in the green room. We’ll find out.About UsCloven are a Dublin-based improv group, consisting of seasoned improvisers Ashly Stewart, Denny MacDermott, Elaine Quinn, Hannah Lemass & Debbie Cheevers. Formed in 2019, Cloven made their debut two weeks before the lockdown started in 2020. They have performed their cult inspired show ‘Propitiation’ at the Dublin Improv Festival, Scene + Heard, and Gather. They have their own cloaks.

Bill & BetseB&B focus on what they know best: relationships. Using stories from their marriage of 36+ years of marriage, they create a world of characters -- and then steal them from each other.About UsBetse Green and Bill Cernansky are veterans of the Portland improv scene, but they’ve been married even longer--since 1989. B&B have been playing patient, character-based longform as a duo for the last 20 years, in Portland as well as dozens of festivals across the USA and Europe.

Ghost TownEvery town has its secrets. Whispers that live at night. Stories told in confidence. Little lies and unsaid truths that grow and twist and shape lives. Even in the most seemingly perfect town no one is ever quite what they seem. Memory is questionable, and every interaction leaves a mark, a ghost of a reminder.
About Us
An experiment in light and immersion, Ghost Town invites the audience to witness the Lynchian remnants of a once beloved, long-dead place.Created by Jayda Fogel ("Talk Radio," "¡Horario Estelar!"), this Amsterdam-based project was initially devised for the 2025 Ithaca Improv Festival. Featuring the incredible international improvisation talents of Sara de Sable ("The Dominoes Improvisation"), Peter More (co-founder of Amsterdam's easylaughs), Nirvi Maru ("Cliffs of Dover"), Florian Gerritsen ("The Unplanned Musical"), Erica Maity (co-artistic director of Impro Amsterdam), Lee Apsey ("Crime Scene Improvisation"), and with the musical direction of Tom Tollenaere ("Talk Radio," "RIOT").

Polly & Pauly (Drag Cabaret)Polly Golightly and Pauly Fella sing hits from their extensive back catalogue - and reveal secrets and intrigue from their lives touring clubs around the world.About UsPolly Golightly has been touring the international cabaret circuit for the better part of 30 years. Tired of fame, fortune, and celebrity dalliances, she's intent on bringing a bit of class and a lot of joie de vivre to smaller, less sophisticated venues and audiences. Lucky Teacher's Club!Pauly Fella cut his teeth in Working Men's Clubs all over Brooklyn. With a voice that's been aged like the finest whiskey, and a face and liver to match, Pauly is ready to belt out some of his lesser known hits - and share some gritty gutter anecdotes along the way.In their first ever show together, Pauly and Polly sing their hits, and encourage you to sing along.

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CouchEver experienced a bad bistro, horrid hotel, or rancid restaurant? Long-form improv troupe Couch transform real 1-star reviews from the internet’s angriest tourists into comedy in "Couch Surfs the Web". Complaints become characters and grievances become games! Expect plenty of questionable customer service, tense holiday drama, and no refunds.About UsCouch are a long-form improv troupe from Glasgow. They were the first Glasgow Improv Theatre house team for Glasgow Harold Night. They have also been seen at Improv F*cktown, and Improv Cage Match.Their members have trained at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre, and have performed at such festivals as DCM in New York and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Bear MilkOne of Berlin's finest improv teams, Bear Milk, bring you an hilarious, sometimes touching, and downright bizarre comedy show.
Bear Milk effortlessly weaves together a one-act play packed full of laughs, crisscrossing storylines, and larger-than-life character, all told in real-time and made up on the spot.About UsFormed in 2021, Bear Milk is an international team of improvisers based in Berlin and performing in English. They came together through a shared love of TJ & Dave and grounded, truth based improv. They found that they really liked each other and found each other hilarious and quickly garnering a reputation for their original characters and expansive narratives. Team members have trained at UCBNY, AMS! theatre in Bremen and CCB Berlin and have been taught by the likes of Will Hines, Armando Diaz, Bill Chott, Ian Roberts Jeff Michalski and Noah Telson. They can be seen regularly at The Comedy Cafe Berlin, performing their monthly sell out shows Full Fat and Truth Night.

Crocodile Paws
Crocodile Paws are thrilled to be able to create and perform together and to share their duo show wherever they are invited to! Sara and Kaisa concentrate on honest reactions & variety of characters. They will dive into the deep end and see where improv will take them. Not to be missed!About UsThese two improvisors traveled across oceans and met by chance at Improv Fest Ireland in 2016. It was love at first sight, except that Sara is from the United States and Kaisa is from Finland. After quite a journey, they found a way to each other and have been improvising together on and off stage ever since.

Somewhat TheatreWhat makes a play a play? What is the difference between a play and an improv set? What do you call a fish with no eyes? A very serious, not at all silly exploration of the nature of theatre and other grand-minded ideas. Somewhat Theatre ask the audience what makes a play a play, then play that play. Playfully.About UsSomewhat Theatre play with new approaches to improvising theatre, blending experimentation with downright silliness.A supergroup of some of the finest up-and-coming improvisers in London today. Whether adapting your favourite stories into something new and remarkable or building an entire play from scratch, Somewhat Theatre are the very epitome of theatre. very epitome of theatre. Somewhat.

Digressions
Digressions is an improv show that lets itself wander around situations, and never promises any beginning or end. There’s no way you’ll guess where they’re going, they don’t know themselves! Without any suggestion, theme, safety net or artifice, they follow through a lead… with the firm intention of getting lost on the way. Yet, they always seem to be where they should! They can explore funny, absurd, touching or poetic moments.About UsJulien Bertrand and Léandre Philippon have worked together for the last 4 years when they met and created this long form. Both of them come from a lifelong dedication to theatre and improv, and they hit it off right away. After a year of practice, they were ready to launch their show onto Paris's theatre stages in 2021 and they have never stopped since.

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Comediasians
Present 'Asian Buffet!'Everyone loves an Asian buffet! Come enjoy a heaping plate of short form games with our Asian-level spicy sense of humour infused throughout. Of course, it wouldn’t be a true Asian experience without karaoke, so we’ll throw in some musical games into the mix. And to top it off, dessert will be our fan-favourite format ‘Every Asian Genre, Everywhere, All At Once’ where YOU get to decide what Asian genres we do (spoiler alert: it’s all of them). Get your takeaway boxes ready to pack up all the extra laughs from this very Asian, very silly extravaganza.About UsWe are the UK's premier pan-Asian improv group, and we're on a mission to bring laughs from the diasporASIA to the UK comedy scene. We do a playful mix of short and long form improv and host a monthly night of Asian comedy in London called ‘Comediasians & Friends’.

Faith & SonnetWe improvise a "movie" based on a genre and title provided from the audience. We play all the characters and construct a complete narrative in the time allotted. Lights! Camera! Line? You pick the genre and give us a title. We give you an improvised movie full of action, drama, comedy, romance, space aliens, and more!About UsFaith & Sonnet are two improvisers from The States (sorry) who bonded over their experiences living abroad in Ireland, their love of playful, narrative story telling, and their generalized anxiety. They live in Seattle, Washington, where they regularly perform with their independent troupe, Formerly Known As. Check them out on instagram @FKAimprov

The ClonesWitness the incredible, as renowned improv duo The Clones take to the stage. With no script, no staging and only a pair of chairs for a set, they spin a simple audience suggestion into a hilarious, spontaneous one-act play. Plots and sub-plots galore, and a whole cast of characters effortlessly juggled by the veteran improvisers. This is comedy theatre like you’ve never seen it before.You will laugh, you may cry… Who knows what’ll happen? They sure don’t.About UsThe Clones are Lloydie James Lloyd and Liam Webber – two leading lights from Nottingham’s thriving improv scene.Lloydie is an improviser from Nottingham, UK. He is the co-founder and co-artistic director of the Robin Hood International Improv Festival which enters its third year in 2024. Lloydie performs with Rhymes Against Humanity – The Improvised Musical, The Clones - a two person improvised play alongside Liam Webber, and Brand New Musical, a Sondheim inspired musical show alongside Katy Schutte.

The Good, The Bad, The Funny
The Good, The Bad and The Funny bring in the musical pazazz and nerdy turn on storytelling. It’s Musical Storytelling 101, and instead of a notebook all you need is your beverage of choice and a potential musical title.About UsThe Good, The Bad, The Funny is a meta-loving musical troupe established in 2022. We dissect the well-beloved Hero’s Journey, play with popular tropes and dip into extremely varied musical genres. We played over 100 shows and performed in multiple international festivals, including Improfest Krakow and Big Sing Barcelona.

Festival JamJoin us for a late night festival jam, a chance to play and perform (or just watch and enjoy!) with improvisers from all around the world in a fun and supportive environment!

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The EnsembleCoached and directed by Nick Armstrong, this international mix of performers have spent time developing a unique show as a one off just for the festival! A treat for sure!

Owen & Jen"At Home"
Inspired by 20th century theatre and single room sitcoms - Jen Hardy and Owen Scrivens will have you laughing and crying over your lovely cup of tea.Think... Willy Russell, John Osbourne, and Alan Bennett characters with a touch of Beckett and Pinter absurdity... improvisedAbout UsHailing from the best city on earth (Liverpool!) [Jen’s words not ours - we will let that slide! - Improv Fest Ireland Team] Jen Hardy is an improviser, poet, teacher and coach as well as being a producer at a Shakespearian theatre.Owen was co-director of Open Heart Theatre in Newcastle, is co-director of Playing Dead Theatre, and most recently founded SaSS Improv in Sheffield. He has performed solo as a one man improvised musical, performed game style improv and genre improv with The Hang in Newcastle, and performed/directed Living. Dying. Dead – a unique improv theatre show about death.

Mixed NutsAlliances is a dynamic long-form improv format where relationships shift, tensions rise, and unexpected bonds are forged. We start with a single audience suggestion—a location. From there, our performers dive into a group scene, establishing characters and forming alliances that shape the world we create. As the story unfolds, friendships are tested, rivalries emerge, and loyalties evolve in ways no one—neither the audience nor the performers—can predict. Every show is a unique journey driven by collaboration, spontaneity, and a touch of chaos.About UsMixed Nuts are one of Warsaw's only English speaking improv groups! Established in 2022, they are an international group with people from around the world: the USA, Canada, Iran, India, Nepal, and of course, Poland!

Fool's GoldSurprise Guests help us round out the final evening of the Belfast Improv Festival!

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Diana Brown (US)Diana is an improv artist, teaching artist, actor, producer, director and voiceover talent. She was voted Most Valuable Mentor and Teacher at the San Francisco Improv FestivalShe leads the improv program at Berkeley Repertory Theatre’s School of Theatre. Diana is an instructor, producer and a member of the leadership team with Leela Improv Theatre in San Francisco.Diana also performs as a guest member of BATS Improv, San Francisco.Bill Cernasky (US)Bill Cernansky has been improvising with ComedySportz Portland for 25 years, and at festivals around the world with the group B.A.B.E. in their show 'I Love Musicals', and in the duo B&B with his wife Betse Green.He is a former ensemble member of Portland's Brody Theater and Curious Comedy Theater, & long-running improv team Peachy Chicken.Navaris Darson (US)Navaris started teaching character-based improv at The Groundlings Theatre (LA) in 2013. In addition to serving as an instructor at The Groundlings and at Verve Studios in Arizona, Navaris has taught improv at UCLA and USC, and he’s served as a featured instructor and performer at the ITS Comedy Festival (Sydney), SAVI FEST (Arizona), Camp Improv Utopia West (California), and at Sacramento Comedy Spot. In the year ahead, he’s absolutely thrilled to be a part of the Belfast and Dublin Improv Festivals!As an improv instructor, Navaris stresses connection, specificity, and the importance of making joyous choices. He works with improvisers of all skill levels, and he greatly enjoys helping students develop improv skills that will benefit them professionally and personally.Betse Green (US)With over 20 years of improv experience, Betse Green is a seasoned teacher, performer, and director who has brought her expertise to stages and classrooms across the US, Canada, and Europe. In Portland, she performs regularly at Curious Comedy Theater and Portland Comedy Theater, and is a core member of independent ensembles including B&B (with her husband of 36 years, Bill), B.A.B.E., Broad Selection, and Bliss.Known for her sharp wit, deep knowledge, and infectious energy, Betse creates improv that’s as grounded and collaborative as it is hilarious.Maro Lesioti (Greece)Maro Lesioti is an actress, improviser, director, and musician based in Athens. She is one of the artistic directors of the Worlds Apart Residency, a board member and instructor at ImproSynthesis School of Improv, and was the co-director of the 2025 I.TH.A.C.A. Improv Festival in Athens.Maro studied at the Hellenic Conservatory, Modern Times Drama School, and the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts, and has taught improvisation and theater workshops in Greece, the U.S.A., the Netherlands, Portugal, and Italy, and directed and performed in a range of plays and short films over the past decade.Alan Pakosz (Poland)Alan Pakosz is Polish actor - a member of KTO Theatre for over 10 years. His improv journey started 18 years ago, which makes him one of the first improvisers in Poland. He is a member of AD HOC Group from Cracow and Artistic Director of ImprovFest PolandAlan has graced the stages of many European festivals including: Barcelona, Amsterdam, Sofia, Uppsala, Tampere, Bremen, Ljubljana, Prague, Brno.Courtney Pong (US)Courtney Pong (she/her) is the founder and owner of The Rozzie Square Theater and the Owner and General Manager of CSz Boston.She launched CSz Boston in 2016 and produces their flagship show ComedySportz, the widest-reaching and longest-running competitive improv show in the nation.Courtney’s a second-generation Chinese American. She is the world’s okay-est rock climber, is nearsighted, and dust intolerant. She has a border collie labrador dog named Meryl Sheep.

Workshops are scheduled twice a day: morning sessions from 10am - 1pm, and afternoon sessions from 2pm - 5pm.Workshop details below scheduleSATURDAY 8th November - Seamus Heaney Centre(10am - 1pm) - 'Group Scenes' - Elana Fishbein
(10am - 1pm) - 'Rhythm Bonanza' - Betse Green
(2pm - 5pm) - '4000 Days of Improv' - Owen Scrivens
(2pm - 5pm) - 'Explorations in Status' - Elana FishbeinSUNDAY 9th November - Seamus Heaney Centre
(10am - 1pm) - 'Bring Yourself To Improv Day' - Owen Scrivens
(10am - 1pm) - 'What You Find Inside' - Sara Palmer-Kokko
(2pm - 5pm) - 'Tension Equals Comedy' - Elana Fishbein
(2pm - 5pm) - 'Music is Us' - Kaisa Kokko-PalmerMONDAY 10th November - Sandy Row Community Centre
(10am - 1pm) - 'Warmups are What's Up' - Kaisa Kokko-Palmer
(10am - 1pm) - Improvisers Just Do Nothing - Jen Hardy (Seamus Heaney Centre)
(2pm - 5pm) 'Grounding the Scene' - Sara Palmer-KokkoTeacher Profiles

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'Group Scenes' - Elana FishbeinThe best group scenes are like a complex, but polished juggling act. In this workshop we’ll aim to corral the chaos into relatable, fun, and inspiring ensemble work. We’ll endeavor to share and throw focus, navigate moments of consensus and division, and maximize the play by working as a unit rather than a cluster of random brains. Through guided scenes and exercises, improvisers will hone their ability to apply patience, harness group dynamic, and work as a team.'Rhythm Bonanza' - Betse GreenDo your scenes sometimes feel flat—like it’s just two people standing around talking? Whether you say too much or not enough, this workshop will help you break out of that rut. By exploring the rhythms and patterns in both speech and movement, you’ll discover how to create scenes that are dynamic, engaging, and alive.'4000 Days of Improv' - Owen Scrivensin this workshop we'll stop trying to 'fit everything in' (because you will always be trying to fit in more), but instead focus on enjoying the time we have. The workshop will encourage participants to reflect on what they enjoy and work out how to do more of that, whether it's the doing, the community, the trust, the learning, the spontaneity, the laughter, or the emotional connection.'Explorations in Status' - Elana FishbeinIn this workshop we'll explore the ways in which a common understanding of status and power can enrich our improv scenes. Utilizing tone, body language, and attitude we'll aim to alter our character's status in relation to one another, as well as the environment itself. Exercises will teach participants to work together to establish and shift the status dynamic between characters, like children on a see-saw. Together we'll attempt to dismantle cliche portrayals of high and low status in order to subvert expectations for comedic effect.'Bring Yourself To Improv Day' - Owen ScrivensThis workshop has been built on Owen's personal experiences co-creating 'Living. Dying. Dead', a show that brought together his work as a doctor, interest in dramatic structure, and a passion for talking openly about death. Owen will cover performance, direction, and format creation, how to use find the drama in your everyday life, and how to direct others using your personal experience.'What You Find Inside' - Sara Palmer-KokkoBy allowing ourselves to be vulnerable, fearless and honest through our character’s point of view, we add layers and believability to our choices. How you see and navigate the world around you is unique and important and can translate into wonderful character choices. By using what lies within us, (aspects of our real lives), we can create characters and beings that react more and think less. Through a series of exercises, we will be exploring what instinctively lives inside of us, and how that can add vulnerability and depth to our characters.'Tension Equals Comedy' - Elana FishbeinThis workshop is all about harnessing tension for comedic effect. By utilizing tension and restraint over outright conflict in our scenes, we can delve deeper into our characters and create captivating interpersonal dynamics. If you're a fan of tactical silence, awkward exchanges, and unfulfilled wants, then you'll love this workshop!'Music is Us!' - Kaisa Kokko-PalmerThis is a workshop for everyone who wants to develop their skills in creating music and soundscapes in improv. In the workshop we will explore different possibilities to make music without actual instruments, using our voices and bodies. Let's try out different exercises and games of group listening, forming bands, creating different kinds of sound sceneries and use all we learn when improvising scenes inspired by our work! This workshop will give you new tools (or reframe the tools you already have) to enhance your scene work and performances with the world of sounds and music! There is so much more we can do in our shows, come experience some first hand!'Warm up's are What's Up!' - Kaisa Kokko-PalmerWarm up games in improvisation are there to open your body and mind to play. Ideally they bring people together, have them connect with each other and bring everyone to the world of curious creativity. In this workshop we will do warm up exercises for the whole 3 hours. You read right! Boring? Not even a little bit! Useful? More than you can imagine! Good warmup exercises contain every aspect of improvisational theatre, and we are going to recognise, deepen and explore these aspects to make us better improvisers! Expect to play, enjoy, learn, laugh, get emotional, stretch as an actor and take home a deeper understanding of warm up exercises and the lessons these exercises hold!'Improvisers Just Do Nothing' - Jen HardyEven the tiniest of details can unlock a whole world of possibilities. What would happen if we let the little things shine? Can we keep the audience on the edge of their seats? Will we still enjoy ourselves if we do less? Let's explore what it means to seemingly 'do nothing', and find the magic contained within.'Grounding the Scene' - Sara Palmer-KokkoWhether playing humans, animated objects, the monster under the bed, or anything in between, grounding our characters adds color and life to our moments on stage.In this workshop we’ll practice bringing our characters to their reality / how they behave in the world, using their real-life knowledge as an anchor. This, along with hyper-listening at the forefront, we will build a history with the characters, places and moments we are portraying on stage.Performer Profiles

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