Impro Act: Duets

how we exist together
laugh, cry, consider

A theatrical inquiry into every imaginable type of relationship pairing, from romantic to familial and from collegiate to frenemies, with completely different scenarios presented every night in a duet of different performance formats.

Occasional songs arise, because when feelings are involved, it’s not always enough to express these with words alone. Relationships are absurd, inspiring, heartbreaking, and ecstatic. They are theatre, and sometimes they are music.

In Act I, duos expose snapshots of their own unique relationships in conversation; sometimes true, sometimes imagined, and you’ll rarely know which. Improvisational actors are inspired to respond to each story however they see fit, with scenes of love, loss, and levity, but always as duets - and yes, at times, there’s a song.

In Act II, Artistic Director of Impro ACT and Canberra International Festival of Improvisation, Nick Byrne, pairs with a different actor each night to present Unconditional; a single narrative relationship play, different every time, where performers discover the true nature of their bonds, and the audience ponders whether any such duet can be truly unconditional.

Accompanied by a roving musician, at once serving as conscience, atmosphere, and the melody that might bring the pair together or keep them apart, Unconditional is sometimes suspenseful, sometimes ridiculous, and commonly poignant - not even the actors can know until the play is well underway. Remind you of any relationship you know?