Birmingham Improv Festival returns this autumn with four days of workshops, shows and more at the city’s Midlands Arts Centre (Thursday 10 - Sunday 13 October). Launching with Pizza And Jam! - an informal improv event fuelled by pizza at the venue’s Kiln Restaurant (Wednesday 9 October) - the festival also provides a platform for visitors attending its workshops to showcase their skills (Ensemble, Sunday the 13th). Check out our selection of highlights from this year’s programme below...

TEN THOUSAND MILLION LOVE STORIES - Midlands Arts Centre, Thurs 10 October
With a combined 30 years experience in improvisation under their belt, it could be said that Heather Urquhart and Jules Mann really do know what they’re talking about. Specialising in musical improv, Heather was awarded the Argus Angel Award for artistic excellence at Brighton Fringe, whilst Jules co-created London’s first international improv festival, Slapdash. Catch them at MAC, where they’ll perform a show about love, what it means and how we succeed and fail in it.

BOX OF FROGS - Midlands Arts Centre, Fri 11 October
Described as ‘a group to see at least once before you croak’, Birmingham-based Box Of Frogs have been making audiences chuckle for nigh on 15 years. Delivering high-octane shows comprising songs, sketches and scenes, all made up on the spot from audience suggestions, the shortform improv troupe will perform at this year’s festival following an impressive 15-date stint at the Edinburgh Fringe.

PENG! IMPROV & THREE INSANE RITUALS - Midlands Arts Centre, Fri 11 October
Two shows for the price of one. The stage provides a canvas for improvisational actress Laura Berkemeyer as she creates a ‘visual symphony’ in Kaleidoscope - a show that promises to swirl your senses and put your imagination to the test. Meanwhile, Brian James O’Connell’s Three Insane Rituals comprises three of the most difficult longform improv formats (Deconstruction, F.O.I.L and Rolling Harold), performed back-to-back-to-back without stopping.

MURDER INC - Midlands Arts Centre, Fri 11 October
If you’re a bit of a sleuth, you should check out this made-to-order whodunnit from Murder Inc - a skilful troupe of comic improvisers who regularly perform sold-out shows across the UK.                                          The wholly improvised crime story sees audiences choose the setting, characters and motives. Murder Inc then do the rest, providing plenty of laughs along the way. Guess the right wrong-doer and you may be awarded a prize to take home...

IMPROMPTWO - STORIES, SCENES FROM A BUILDING - Midlands Arts Centre, Sat 12 October
Festival favourites ImprompTwo are renowned for fusing silences with humour, banter and passion. Scenes From A Building is set in a small apartment block in New York. Downstairs is a small and yet-to-be-decided business, whilst upstairs there’s a series of revolving renters - some short term, others who linger longer. As time moves on,  audiences get to see how lives change and intersect, and how they are affected both by history and each other.

ST DOCTOR’S HOSPITAL - Midlands Arts Centre, Sat 12 October
Imagine a hospital where no procedure is too convoluted, no disease too made up, and no relationship saga too inappropriate. Created by Graham Dickson - from smash-hit West End show Austentatious - and promising laughs aplenty and audience participation in abundance, St Doctor’s Hospital sets the action within an American soap opera. Not surprisingly, the production has found its inspiration in numerous US television medical dramas and shows, including Grey’s Anatomy, ER and Scrubs. 

Birmingham Improv Festival takes place at the city’s Midlands Arts Centre from Thursday 10 to Sunday 13 October. For further information, visit birminghamimprovfestival.com