Comedy: Birthday Shenanigans

Improv group Off The Cuff mark 10 years together with a day long celebration

When you’ve been going for a while, it makes natural sense to celebrate the biggies. Some people do it with wine, some with song, and improv group Off The Cuff do it with a day-long timetable of stand-up, improvisation, philosophy and more, honouring the collective’s origins as students at Sussex University, as well as the multitude of creative directions current and past cast members have shot off into.

The day kicks off with a chance to try your hand at improv yourself with a free non-ticketed hour-long workshop with the group. There’s drama with the SUDS new work For Queen And Country, exploring the experiences of a young British soldier in the Middle East, as well as seasoned stand-up from former and current Off The Cuff members Pete Strong, Tom Veryzer and Simon Plotkin. Ex-Cuffer, and current member of the internationally acclaimed group Racing Minds, Douglas Walker brings his first solo show Möglich to the day after a successful run in last month’s Edinburgh Fringe.

For those in search of laughs accompanied by bigger pictures, the smash hit London show Stand-Up Philosophy is a part of the proceedings hosted by philosopher/comedian Charlie Duncan Saffrey, with special guests comedian Ahir Shah and genuine respected philosopher Dr Gordon Finlayson. And for those after something involving puppetry, animation and physicality make a date with acclaimed theatre company Have You Lost Me?’s work-in-progress The North! The North!

All, these, and more, are rounded off by Off The Cuff’s 10th Anniversary Spectacular, steeped with celebration and comedy. Pick and choose or feast on the whole day’s entertainment. It’s a rich vein of talent being tapped and celebrated. Happy Birthday to this Brighton-raised talent.
Off the Cuff’s 10th Anniversary All-Dayer, Saturday 26 September, 12noon–11.30pm, Otherplace at The Basement, tickets from £5/4 for individual shows (all day pass £20/16), www.otherplacebrighton.co.uk