What do you get when you cross an improviser, a red nose and a bottle of red wine? Tricky I know, with an improviser in the mix the options are infinite. This time though, the answer is ‘Blind Date,’ the one woman improvised show created by Canadian Comedy Award winning Rebecca Northan. (Which, it should be pointed out, is in no way connected to Blind Date with Cilla Black).
I am rather chuffed that I can say that I know Rebecca from our days at The Loose Moose theatre in Calgary, Canada, which I first joined in 1991. I was a ‘green stick’ improviser who caught the bug after seeing Theatresports, a form of improvisational theatre, one summer Sunday evening. Rebecca was unlike any other fellow 18year I had ever met. She was bold, extremely talented and had a way of dealing with men I admired deeply. Admittedly, I was rather intimidated by her as while I was outgoing, I felt I hadn’t come into my own yet. Watching Rebecca improvise was inspiring and everyone in the company knew she would be a success, and successful she is.
Blind Date is a 90 minute improvised show where our heroine Mimi, having been stood up by her own date, decides rather than to waste the evening, why not grab a date from the audience and see what happens? Any man who is an audience member is a potential date – with the risk that he might decline, however Rebecca has become pretty adept at choosing the right person and reading who might be up for the challenge. The set-up is just like a date. A table, two chairs, a bottle of wine, a gorgeous lady, a lovely man and, of course, a clown nose.
To avoid any discomfort for her ‘dates’, Rebecca has ingeniously devised time outs (not the mummy kind for naughty behaviour) to escape the stage for a few minutes and take a breather. (How I wish I could have had a time out box during some of the dates I’ve had in my time…) The date can use a time out box Rebecca places to the side of the stage should he draw a blank, feel overwhelmed or if his real life partner is feeling uncomfortable with the direction the date is going. Rebecca has emphasised that Blind Date is not about humiliating the men who take part- but rather exploring how each of her dates is unique as an individual, and how they are day to day heroes in their own everyday lives.
Rebecca hasn’t just won one award, but an entire list of Canadian awards. A list I tell you! And here is that list dadadadaaaaaa *mimes brass instruments that one would play fanfare on* – Two Canadian Comedy Awards: one for best female improviser, another for best comedic play. Blind Date has also been nominated for a number of Dora Mavor Moore Awards (Toronto Theatre Awards). Blind Date won a Betty Mitchell Award for "Best Female in a Comedy/Musical" (Calgary Theatre Awards), and Rebecca has also been nominated for a Gemini (Canada's Emmy for TV).
After hearing so many of our contemporaries rave about her show, reading fabulous reviews and following her on social media, I am hugely excited that I can finally can see Blind Date in London this month. Even better so can you. Blind Date opens 28th of May the Charing Cross Theatre with Rebecca starring as Mimi until the 10th of June, then Christy Bruce and Renée Amber, also Loose Moose alumni will take charge of the red nose and wine until the run finishes the 11th of July.
Date: Tuesday 28th May – Thursday 11th July 2013
Time: Varies, click HERE for more information
Venue: Charing Cross Theatre, The Arches, Villiers Street, London, WC2N 6NL
Tickets: £15 – £36.50 – click HERE to book
Pictured: Rebecca Northan, Courtney Cornfield
