Review: GIANT STEPS, Soho Theatre

“Improvisation meets improvisation”

Giant Steps is an hour-long improvisational show with a bit of a twist - it’s not just the comedians who are improvising! Along with the four performers, there is also a live jazz band on stage, improvising along with the actors based on suggestions from the audience. Upon entering Soho Theatre Upstairs, audience members are greeted by the musicians (Freddie Canton on bass, Ollie Young on guitar, Sam Nicholls on drums as well as one uncredited saxophone player) doing a pre-show performance, jamming together as people start to take their seats.

The show was created by Max Dickins and Conor Jatter as a way of combining their love for comedy and music, bringing in both musicians and fellow improv comedians for a night of “comedy and creativity.” The special guests at this performance were Cariad Lloyd and Charlotte Gittins, who are both involved in several improvisational acts including Austentatious. At the start of the show, after some introductions and an explanation of the show’s concept, Dickins asks the audience for words based on love, fear and a location. The words for this particular performance? Bread, spiders and mountain.

According to the show’s description, the goal is to have the comedians and musicians “inspire each other in real time,” but it is difficult to see just how this happens. Once the words have been established, the musicians are told to come up with something that is inspired by the suggestions. The comedians then take to the stage and begin doing scenes, though only some of them appear to actually be based on the suggested words and very few of them incorporate the actual music, which tends to just play in between the scenes. 

The scenes themselves are all pretty silly, with plots ranging from only five computers being installed in the United Kingdom to a father who doesn’t want his son to become a baker like him. Lloyd is the absolute highlight of the show, especially during one scene where she pretends to be a spider that is learning to be human. The way that she simply accepts and leans into the absurdity of the different scenes that have been established is fantastic, and her chemistry with the other three performers is unmatched. Speaking of chemistry, there is a bit of a strange sexual undertone that carries throughout Giant Steps. It’s funny for a few moments, but gets a bit uncomfortable when it’s in nearly every single scene.  

The comedians appear to know each other pretty well and do not hesitate to make fun of one another’s mistakes, making for some of the funniest parts of the show. Unfortunately, while each of the musicians are individually talented, they rarely come together to form a solid jazz band. There are constantly different tempos and keys going on at the same time, with each performer seemingly in their own world and improvising for themselves. 

There is an attempt to tie everything together in the final few minutes of the show, with the final sketch returning to the couple from the first sketch and focusing on the concept of five computers with Internet being installed in the homes of different couples. It feels a bit rushed, however, which is confusing as the show ended up running for only fifty minutes instead of its 

Giant Steps is an improv show with an interesting concept, but struggles to combine the music and the comedy to make for a cohesive performance. Some more interaction between the comedians and the musicians, as well as some more input from the audience, could make for a stronger show. 

Giant Steps ran from 7 - 9 July at Soho Theatre.