Brighton Fringe Review: SPACE PLANET MISSION: THE IMPROVISED SCI-FI EIC, Half A Camel - Presuming Ed's

“Lesson one - what is a laser?”

Space Planet Mission: The Improvised Sci-Fi Epic’s title is pretty self-explanatory - the cast of the show will be putting on a sci-fi-themed improvisational show, coming up with an entirely new story before the audience’s eyes. An added bonus? There is a live musician accompanying the improvisational journey, making for just a bit more of immersion into the sci-fi world. 

Never been to an improv show before? Don’t worry, there’s an introduction to the genre by “Captain Fumblefluff.” And have no fear - you don’t need to be a fan of sci-fi to enjoy Space Planet Mission. In fact, the first suggestions for the particular show I attended had very little to do with the genre of sci-fi at all, with the members of the group having to encourage audience members to come up with some more outrageous suggestions than names like “Chad” and “Norman” and mission ideas like “finding the remote” or “finding the best new dance move.” 

Once suggestions are made, the story can begin. The name of our hero? Matty P. Matty P’s journey? To travel across the galaxy to find new laser tech. We learn that Matty P is the son of a proud dust farmer, who is disappointed in his son and his desire to learn more about machines and lasers instead of dust. But there is danger on the horizon, with the evil Troglodytes wanting to acquire all of the guns in the galaxy to achieve ultimate domination. In order to save the galaxy, Matty P goes to laser school and learns from Professor Zedlock, a many-tentacled creature who gives him dozens of unexpected tests. 

Along with the previously mentioned live musical accompaniment, the performers contribute sound effects to different scenes, with one in particular doing the majority of the effects for things like spaceships and mechanical prosthetics. It’s a lovely touch to the show as a whole and is quite fun to see how the performers interact with the sounds they’re given. I especially enjoyed the scenes in which characters were travelling through space, as there are plenty of comedic and musical moments that can come from these moments!

The set plot of Matty P finding new laser tech goes a bit off the rails, with characters being introduced and forgotten and performers accidentally mixing up characters and taking a bit too long to recover, leading to awkward pauses. There is also what appears to be a bit of a power struggle appearing at times, with one or two performers trying to establish the plot of a scene and others quickly going in their own direction.

There is a hilarious scene where we get to see the factory workers making the guns that the Troglodytes have ordered, but it does come out of left field and takes away from time that could have been spent with characters like Matty P and Professor Zedlock. While it all is being made up on the spot, there should be some more collaboration between the performers, proven by the final fifteen minutes being absolutely unhinged.  

Space Planet Mission: The Improvised Sci-Fi Epic is a fun hour of improvisational comedy, but the group does struggle a bit with working together as a cohesive unit to create a seamless performance. The sci-fi journey they went on in the particular show I saw was quite silly and I would have liked to see more from the group, who clearly have the comedic and improvisational chops to make a spectacular show. 

Space Planet Mission: The Improvised Sci-Fi Epic ran on 31 May - 1 June at the Brighton Fringe Festival.