Shows

Are you an improviser? Join most of our visiting improvisers in our volunteer team. And because we love love love love LOVE our volunteers so much, we reward them with a free evening ticket for the day they volunteer!
Questions? Read up on our frequently asked questions page.

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  • Monday

    January 27, 2020

  • 18:45 - 19:30
    The participants of the two day Long Form Musical intensive by Heather and Joe will flex their newly developed improv muscles on stage.
    Cost: Free entry
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Zuilenzaal

  • 20:00 - 21:00
    Welcome to IMPRO Amsterdam! In this first show our international main cast players join our local cast to give you a taste of their unique improv styles. Expect teasers of everything IMPRO Amsterdam 2020 has to offer – a tapas plate of local flavours!
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Grote Zaal

  • 21:20 - 22:20
    An improvised show where mime, acrobatics and music are combined in a funny and imaginative way. On stage are physical comedians Morgan Mansouri and Frédéric Pont from France, and Jacintha Damström from Finland, who will take you to the world of the wordless.
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Grote Zaal

  • 22:45 - 23:30
    “The God created her, the Devil posessed, Forever she’s sinful, forever she’s saint, The good, and the bad, the tricky, sincere. The passion, despair, the smile, and the tear, And angel, and demon, and terror, and wonder, The peak over clouds, deph deep as can be, Beginning, the end, the woman - that’s me.” - Julian Tuwim

    “7 Women of Different Ages” is also a title of a documentary film by Krzysztof Kieślowski, as it is a direct inspiration for their show, in which actresses and women from the audience share particular moments of their lives, what they realized, what changed with years, and based on that they take you to improvised adventure told in several stories about being a women in XXIst century.
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Kleine Zaal

  • 22:45 - 23:30
    The king wants a theatre play. He doesn't know what he wants, but he wants it right now. A playwright and a jester must collaborate to create a story to satisfy the king, and they only have 30 minutes to please the king's whim. Their lives depend on it. This improvised play highlights the importance of oral tradition and storytelling through two different and conflicting characters: a calm, brain-centered playwright and a wacky physical jester.
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Zuilenzaal

  • 23:05
    This ticket gives you access to:
              both the shows at 20:00 and 21:20,
              one of the shows at 22:45* and
              our grand after-party on Saturday, after the final show.

    *Only limited seats available per late-night show so get your late-night card before the first main show starts. Ask at the entrance desk.

    Free preshow this Monday: Long Form Musical Intensive 17:30 - 18:45

    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show

  • 23:15
    A passepartout gives you access to:
              six evenings full of shows,
              our grand after-party on Saturday, after the final show and
              you get one night for free!

    Don't miss a thing!
    Admit it, six evenings of improv is not nearly enough to get you through the winter, but it's a start....

    Cost: € 97,50 (get one evening for free)
    show

  • Tuesday

    January 28, 2020

  • 18:45 - 19:30
    Katy Schutte and Edmund Fargher ask for a famous movie that has no romantic storyline and then turn it into a classic rom-com. Previous shows have romanticised Alien, Terminator 2 and Home Alone
    Cost: Free entry
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Zuilenzaal

  • 20:00 - 21:00
    Romantic love, Intimacy, Passion and Sexual Attraction. 'Close To You' is a ground breaking show celebrating passion, romance and sexual attraction from creator and director Rama Nicholas and like all great love affairs, it’s bound to leave you wanting more. Love stories intrigue us. From the great movie classics to romantic books, poetry and music, and as our favourite characters fall in love, we relish every moment of their joy. Then, when the inevitable heartbreak comes, we share their tears and share their pain. 'Close To You' draws on our rawest emotions, secret loves and hidden yearnings to create an intimate and engaging theatrical experience.
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Grote Zaal

  • 21:20 - 22:20
    This musical from Joe Samuel (UK), Heather Urquart (UK) & Joe Bill (USA) is based on the idea that the favorite songs in Improvised Musicals tend to be those songs that are rooted in the Blues. They wondered, what if EVERY song in a musical was a completely different sounding song that’s rooted in The Blues? Would that even be possible? Yes it is - and this trio can wield the musical Blues Hammer to cure whatever blues their audience might be experiencing that night.
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Grote Zaal

  • 22:45 - 23:30
    Everybody cheats, everybody lies. No one can be trusted in this improvised Film Noir show, titled by the audience. A protagonist emerges and embarks on a dark journey encountering strange characters. It is a murky world based on the film genre from the 1920's to 50's. “Troubled and flawed” describes every character in this world as corruption, misadventure and deception drag them to their painfully funny ends. You never know where this story goes...
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Kleine Zaal

  • 22:45 - 23:30
    Since 2015, 2 million refugees came to Germany. In total, more than 10 million men and women, boys and girls where searching for a new home in a European country. Most of them were fleeing war, terror, death, and destroyed countries - and in Germany? On the one hand, people all over the country offered warm welcomes. Colourful images of a tolerant and helpful society were broadcasted by the media and even our chancellor said the iconic words "Wir schaffen das". On the other hand, the far right populists entered the national parliament for the first time in post-war Germany. Refugee camps were attacked and at far right demonstrations, men with shaved hair raised their hand to hail Hitler - also broadcasted by the media. What effect does this have on the people who came to Germany, to Europe? Our show "Home" gives refugees the stage to tell their stories - what they miss, what they love, how it feels to leave everything behind, and what home is for them. We will combine the true stories with improvised scenes to maybe find some answers. At least we will ask questions...
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Zuilenzaal

  • 23:05
    This ticket gives you access to:
              both the shows at 20:00 and 21:20,
              one of the shows at 22:45* and
              our grand after-party on Saturday, after the final show.

    *Only limited seats available per late-night show so get your late-night card before the first main show starts. Ask at the entrance desk.

    Free preshow this Tuesday: All Movie are Rom Coms 17:30 - 18:45

    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show

  • 23:15
    A passepartout gives you access to:
              six evenings full of shows,
              our grand after-party on Saturday, after the final show and
              you get one night for free!

    Don't miss a thing!
    Admit it, six evenings of improv is not nearly enough to get you through the winter, but it's a start....

    Cost: € 97,50 (get one evening for free)
    show

  • Wednesday

    January 29, 2020

  • 18:45 - 19:30
    It’s graduation night for the Grapevine High School improv comedy class! There’s just one small problem: the drama teacher fell sick at the last minute. Luckily the high school football coach, Ted Rookard, has volunteered to direct the show. He’s got a sports-minded attitude and a brand-new copy of “Improv for Dummies.” What could go wrong?
    Work your own improv magic with cast members! No ticket needed, just hop in!
    Cost: Free entry
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Zuilenzaal

  • 20:00 - 21:00
    Sharpen your samurai sword for this fully improvised play in the style of Pulp Fiction’s Quentin Tarantino. It’s a show packed with clever dialogue, grindhouse music, and just enough violence to pay homage to this Reservoir Dog of a filmmaker.
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Grote Zaal

  • 21:20 - 22:20
    A twisted musical tale inspired by Tim Burton and The Brothers Grimm. Starting with your suggestion, these award-winning improvisers weave a fantastical tale dripping with black comedy, disturbing characters and haunting live music that’s different every time. ""Fantastic! Improvisational theatre at its best!"" ***** (Broadway Baby). ""Certainly worthy of Burton"" (Chortle). ""Hilarious!"" (Colin Mochrie).
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Grote Zaal

  • 22:45 - 23:30
    Loser Circus is an improvised narrative story that takes place in the golden ages of travelling circuses. It’s a show that brings the heartwarming feel of a classic underdog story together with the rush and valor of the live acts that can only happen inside a circus ring. A sneak peak, if you will, into the whimsical yet hard life that starts when the curtains are closed. Doris is known for their scenes with big heart and physicality, and in this brand new original format they will once again create dynamic scenes between strong characters, without forgetting the joyful comedy found along the way.
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Kleine Zaal

  • 22:45 - 23:30
    Tonight we have a great show for you with two solo-improvisers, both showing their unique take on solo improv.

    Last year Theo Langason rocked our main stage with his group Blackout Improv. Now he's back! Solo and intimate... he creates improvised poems and songs inspired by the audience's happiest memories.

    "Dance, Monkey!" is an improvised one-woman show with an ever-emerging cast of thousands of characters. Music inspires dance, movement, personalities, points of view, location, time, tone and pace as one scene moves to the next. "Dance, Monkey!" is comedic monologues and scenes just like a solo theatre piece, except everything is made up on the spot and the characters are talking right to you!
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Zuilenzaal

  • 23:05
    This ticket gives you access to:
              both the shows at 20:00 and 21:20,
              one of the shows at 22:45* and
              our grand after-party on Saturday, after the final show.

    *Only limited seats available per late-night show so get your late-night card before the first main show starts. Ask at the entrance desk.

    Free open stage this Wednesday: Presented by Coach Rookard 17:30 - 18:45

    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show

  • 23:15
    A passepartout gives you access to:
              six evenings full of shows,
              our grand after-party on Saturday, after the final show and
              you get one night for free!

    Don't miss a thing!
    Admit it, six evenings of improv is not nearly enough to get you through the winter, but it's a start....

    Cost: € 97,50 (get one evening for free)
    show

  • Thursday

    January 30, 2020

  • 18:45 - 19:30
    Improv powerhouse and audience favourite Inbal Lori will work intensively with a cast for two days, and in this show, we see the fruits of their labour.
    Cost: Free entry
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Zuilenzaal

  • 20:00 - 21:00
    The Scramble stirs up chaos with multiple scenes & multiple realities taking place at once. Let us invite you into a complex, three-dimensional world of cross-fade edits, stacked scenes, quantum leaps, time travel, and ghosts. And then we trust in the intelligence of you and your fellow audience members to make sense of it all. Be prepared for some post show discussions!
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Grote Zaal

  • 21:20 - 22:20
    Two Mediterranean woman, one a brunette Israeli and the other a blonde Spaniard, will improvise a full-length story as an allegory based on a secret answer they get from someone in the audience. Be prepared for anything: beauty, ugliness, love, hate, violence, dance, and the art of giving a f**k by not giving a f**k. This is a show without rules or structure. It is about the story they both want to tell you at that exact moment.
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Grote Zaal

  • 22:45 - 23:30
    After suffering through the low wages and minimal recognition of the post-modern dance world, Jamie Graham and Amy Larimer are pursuing new prosperity & fame in the lucrative world of improv comedy! Amy & Jamie started out as classically-trained professional dancers. Eight years ago they were seduced by the dark sparkle of improv comedy and became the Raving Jaynes -- a dynamic female duo mixing dance, improv, song and physical theater to tell entirely improvised stories! Nothing is choreographed! Nothing is scripted! In Mad-Liberation they create a unique story inspired by a Mad Lib generated by the audience. (45 minutes)
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Kleine Zaal

  • 22:45 - 23:30
    What's the difference between Latin America and the rest of the world? How would a latino solve an European situation? We show how WE would've dealt with your major significant moments in your life, and all the events that needed to happen in order to get there. As human beings we are connected through stories, some of what we think are our most essential cultural traits are just human ways of behavior, by addressing our differences maybe we will find how much we are alike. Latinos are here, and we came with attitude (but it's a cool one).
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Zuilenzaal

  • 23:05
    This ticket gives you access to:
              both the shows at 20:00 and 21:20,
              one of the shows at 22:45* and
              our grand after-party on Saturday, after the final show.

    *Only limited seats available per late-night show so get your late-night card before the first main show starts. Ask at the entrance desk.

    Special preshow this Thursday: All in 17:30 - 18:45

    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show

  • 23:15
    A passepartout gives you access to:
              six evenings full of shows,
              our grand after-party on Saturday, after the final show and
              you get one night for free!

    Don't miss a thing!
    Admit it, six evenings of improv is not nearly enough to get you through the winter, but it's a start....

    Cost: € 97,50 (get one evening for free)
    show

  • Friday

    January 31, 2020

  • 18:45 - 19:30
    It’s graduation night for the Grapevine High School improv comedy class! There’s just one small problem: the drama teacher fell sick at the last minute. Luckily the high school football coach, Ted Rookard, has volunteered to direct the show. He’s got a sports-minded attitude and a brand-new copy of “Improv for Dummies.” What could go wrong?
    Work your own improv magic with cast members! No ticket needed, just hop in!
    Cost: Free entry
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Zuilenzaal

  • 20:00 - 21:00
    Magic can deepen reality. Time can be fluid. People can be anything. Day to day life is sparked with a touch of fantasy; and future, past and present are happening all at the same time. No one is asking "what is true?" or "what is fake?", there is just pure acceptance of things as they are. The tension is building, the narrative unfolds and an improvised show of magic realism is taking its place.
    Inspired by great writers like Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Isabel Allende and Toni Morrison, this show is a tribute to the mid-twentieth century genre of "magic realism".
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Grote Zaal

  • 21:20 - 22:20
    4 are alive. 3 have careers. 1 is rich. 4 want a change.
    3 are happy. 4 are feminists. 2 are mothers. 3 feel alone. 2 are political. 4 are badly paid. 1 just wants sex. 4 lost someone. 2 won't ask. 1 is still smiling. 2 are religious. 2 are heterosexual. 1 is polyamorous. 2 are depressed. 1 doesn't shave. 2 own apartments. 4 are middle class. 2 are searching for a lover. 4 are from different countries. 3 don't believe in true love. 1 is a communist. 4 have vaginas. 2 nearly quit theatre. 4 enjoy improvisation. 2 fear the unknown. 3 are precarious workers. 2 are afraid. 3 are brave. 4 play.
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Grote Zaal

  • 22:45 - 23:30
    “Saudade” is often regarded as the most untranslatable of all Portuguese words. The main reason you can’t convey it in another language is its inherently paradoxical nature, which a poet once described as a “wellness you suffer of and an evil you enjoy.” The root of the word is Latin for solitude, yet it has, throughout history, united the Portuguese as a people living a common experience. It is something abstract that you feel, but also something somewhat more concrete that you have. It’s usually defined as a longing for the past, but you also feel it for things that are yet to be. You can feel it for objects, moments, places, people, and not only those you’ve experienced: it allows you to remember just as fondly the smell of your childhood home and a fishing trip your grandfather likes to talk about, a certain June morning, 1951. It’s as if every point in time was just a location you could find on a map, but it is always so distant that is utterly unattainable.

    Which brings us to “Saudade”, the show. We can’t translate “saudade” with words, but we’ll try with improv. We begin by taking inspiration in memories from the audience, which will trigger monologues where we’ll explore a memory of our own, on the topic of a related subject we have “saudades” about. From there we start a journey of diverse short and medium length scenes, some funny, some bittersweet, turning our initial inspiration into a machine to create stories, moments and new memories.
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Kleine Zaal

  • 22:45 - 23:30
    Origami Swan is a show about the resonance of a relationship. In the Japanese art of origami, a single piece of paper contains a world of possibilities, with each fold guiding the material towards its final form. Yet even as it stands completed, the origami swan still holds within it the possibilities of what might have been. In Origami Swan, Ella Galt (BIG, Barcelona) and Dan Seyfried (La Carpe Haute, Strasbourg) present an intimate theatrical exploration of quantum multiverse theory, in which every choice you've ever made and never made exist in an unimaginably vast ensemble of parallel universes. As the reach of our possible worlds unfolds before us, we discover that the decisions we make are at once intensely powerful, and totally meaningless.
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Zuilenzaal

  • 23:05
    This ticket gives you access to:
              both the shows at 20:00 and 21:20,
              one of the shows at 22:45* and
              our grand after-party on Saturday, after the final show.

    *Only limited seats available per late-night show so get your late-night card before the first main show starts. Ask at the entrance desk.

    Free open stage this Friday: Presented by Coach Rookard 17:30 - 18:45

    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show

  • 23:15
    A passepartout gives you access to:
              six evenings full of shows,
              our grand after-party on Saturday, after the final show and
              you get one night for free!

    Don't miss a thing!
    Admit it, six evenings of improv is not nearly enough to get you through the winter, but it's a start....

    Cost: € 97,50 (get one evening for free)
    show

  • Saturday.

    February 1, 2020

  • 20:00 - 21:00
    Our international-festival ensemble will come together for a final time, after a week of intense work, play, and adventure. The words unsaid. The possibilities untried. The wishes still unfulfilled. In this show, our visiting artists will have an opportunity to express their wishes about what they want to experience on stage, with this particular cast, in this particular space and time, with this particular audience. The rest will do their best to fulfill these wishes, now, or never. All actors will be active on stage all the time, to create a non-stop-experience, an almost electrical atmosphere. They will take you on a journey into unknown territory, onto undiscovered grounds. We cannot tell you where this path will lead you. We can promise, however, that by digging deep into the creative minds of these superb improvisers, the joined experience will unite everybody in the room and prove to be a wish fulfilled.
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Grote Zaal

  • 21:20 - 22:20
    To celebrate the year IMPRO Amsterdam was born we will present a musical in 90's style. So bring along your flippos, your super soaker and your game boy, because Backstreet's back allright!
    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show
    Where
    Compagnietheater Grote Zaal

  • 22:45 - 03:00
    We’ll be ending IMPRO Amsterdam on Saturday, February 1st with our traditional closing party - Dancing till we drop at 3 AM. Come in your best 90's outfit for this all out 90's throwback party!
    Cost: Free entry with any IMPRO Amsterdam evening ticket
    show

  • 23:05
    This ticket gives you access to:
              both the shows at 20:00 and 21:20 and
              our grand after-party*

    *Get your outfit together, for our splendidly themed 'fancy dress' party and dance the night away!!

    Cost: € 19,50 (all shows this evening included)
    show

  • 23:15
    A passepartout gives you access to:
              six evenings full of shows,
              our grand after-party on Saturday, after the final show and
              you get one night for free!

    Don't miss a thing!
    Admit it, six evenings of improv is not nearly enough to get you through the winter, but it's a start....

    Cost: € 97,50 (get one evening for free)
    show

All evening shows will be held at the Compagnietheater.
All shows and workshops are in English!
Read other frequently asked questions here.