Trouble Walked In: An Improvised Noir Mystery

Parking Lots Improv—Cinematheque

You have to hand it to a group that can spin an improvised story line for an hour. Defining some boundaries at the beginning helps, and I suspect that the actors all have film noir character types sorted out before they start, but that does not detract from their accomplishment.

On Sunday night they investigated a murder at a bookstore. The story dragged a bit at times, but mostly they kept the ball in the air, and occasionally they delivered some explosively funny lines. Most of the time when I see improv I admire the inventiveness of the performers without necessarily enjoying the story they create. Yesterday both worked for me.

Kevin Longfield