Usually actors use improv for warmup exercises before practising their scripts. But the Paper Street Theatre company does the opposite.

To prepare for their latest show, An Improvised Samuel Beckett, five local improvisers read BeckettB次元官网网址檚 scripts in rehearsals then threw away the lines to create a completely new, improvised play live on stage.

B次元官网网址淲e try to create a play thatB次元官网网址檚 like something Beckett would have written himself,B次元官网网址� artistic director Dave Morris explained. B次元官网网址淭his isnB次元官网网址檛 a parody of his work, itB次元官网网址檚 a homage.B次元官网网址�

Beckett, who died in 1989, is best known for penning Waiting for Godot and KrappB次元官网网址檚 Last Tape. He was among the European playwrights who pioneered theatre of the absurd, a genre that defined hopelessness, where characters realize the world has no meaning and theyB次元官网网址檙e stuck in an endless routine.

It may sound depressing, but Morris promises the show will at least be funnier than the groupB次元官网网址檚 inaugural offering, An Improvised Tennessee Williams, which they performed last summer based on the writer of Streetcar Named Desire.

B次元官网网址淚f you like dark humour, youB次元官网网址檒l get some laughs from the show,B次元官网网址� Morris said.

The cast B次元官网网址� which includes Morris, Missie Peters, Chris Gabel, Scott Thompson and Byron Kjeldsen B次元官网网址� wear overcoats and bowler hats to get into character. TheyB次元官网网址檝e all studied BeckettB次元官网网址檚 style and where he got his inspiration.

On stage, the characters adopt BeckettB次元官网网址檚 bleak outlook on life.

They use physical comedy in place of words, and when they do speak itB次元官网网址檚 in quick sentences, offering sullen insight into the human condition.

ItB次元官网网址檚 not what you expect to see when you go to an improv show.

B次元官网网址淯sually improv focuses on narrative and storytelling, and making people laugh,B次元官网网址� Morris said. B次元官网网址淲ith Beckett, he creates these dark worlds where nothing happens, and thereB次元官网网址檚 not a lot of dialogue.B次元官网网址�

Morris says he wants to challenge himself and his fellow improvisers with works outside their usual style.

B次元官网网址淲e want to create improv that feels like theatre,B次元官网网址� he said. B次元官网网址淥ur goal is to make the audience forget weB次元官网网址檙e improvising.B次元官网网址�

So, why not just work from a script? B次元官网网址淏ecause IB次元官网网址檇 get bored,B次元官网网址� Morris said. B次元官网网址淲ith script work you only really get to be creative in the early stages of rehearsals and then itB次元官网网址檚 always the same. With improv weB次元官网网址檙e creating something new every night.  No two shows are ever the same.B次元官网网址�

An Improvised Samuel Beckett runs Nov. 17 and 18, 8 p.m., at the Intrepid Theatre, 1609 Blanshard St. Tickets are $12 at the door.

reporter@goldstreamgazette.com