Scared Scriptless Fall Fest Spices Up Autumn Improv Offerings

Fall Fest - the Autumn Season of Scared Scriptless improv - has fall'in upon us, so get in before it leaves in just two weeks!

There are only two shows left on the Fall Fest tree, and they promise the hilarious professional improv comedy that you expect from The Court Jesters, with some autumn colour to spice up the cooler months.

The Court Jesters have been masters and mistresses of improv comedy for over 35 years, providing original comedy most Friday nights to Ōtautahi audiences. Producer Flore Charbonnier says that the company has recently been adding a twist to the usual line-up with some seasonal programmes of themed shows, which kicked off in December 2022 with Hot Scared Scriptless Summer.

Following the success of those shows, the Jesters launched Scared Scriptless Fall Fest in April with themes including zombie apocalypse, royal coronations and supernatural spookiness as frames for the usual improv and audience participation model that has seen Scared Scriptless become an Ōtautahi entertainment institution.

Coming up in the Scared Scriptless Fall Fest oeuvre are Knives In and Spanked Scriptless. Scared Scriptless Knives In brings us the mystery of Lea-Ann Diesel, Canterbury's most respected crime novelist, who is found dead in the Cardboard Cathedral. Will Kaiapoi's best private dick, Detective Davo Davidson, be able to unravel the mystery of her murder, when some of Christchurch's most elite are up to their balls* in ensuring that the truth never comes to light? (*eyeballs that is).

Jester Riley Harter says that she is innately qualified to MC this show, keeping the entertainment fast-paced and on point. “As I have watched two seasons of Criminal Minds, played at least four games of Cluedo and had a murder mystery birthday party when I was 16, I feel like it is my destiny and calling to lead this show” she says.

She describes the show as a “Blend of the quick witted and naughty comedy of a classic Scared Scriptless show with the drama of murder and the mystery of…mystery. It will be packed full of colourful characters, mind boggling mysteries and suspicious circumstances, and throughout the show we will have to figure it out together.” So, are you up to the challenge?

If you’d rather pay a more submissive role in your audience attendance, then Scared Scriptless: Spanked Scriptless may be for you.

Andrew Todd pitched the idea for Scared Scriptless: Spanked Scriptless months ago, but so much leather was too sweaty for the summer shows. Andrew finally gets to bring Ōtautahi audiences a blend of two types of naughtiness, and perhaps the first time a Scared Scriptless show has been rated R18.

“As a member of the Christchurch kink scene, I want to bring to Spanked Scriptless the full sense of exploration, connection, and respect found in that community. It'll be a show full of naughtiness, punishments, and unconventional relationships, and I'm looking forward to doing an "adult" themed Scared Scriptless that isn't just a bunch of dick jokes. (Although yes - there will also be dick jokes).”

Scared Scriptless: Knives In (19 May) and Scared Scriptless: Spanked Scriptless (26 May) both play at 10:15pm at The Court Theatre and can be booked in advance (courttheatre.org.nz), or at The Court Theatre Box Office on the night.

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