Press Press Quotes Winner of US Weekly News 100 star award ***** "A comic masterpiece" ThreeWeeks ***** "Pure genius" Fringe Review **** "What sets them apart is their great chemistry and genuine sense of joy they bring to the stage" The List **** "Slick, savvy and a little bit saucy...this is the polished R’n'B of improv" Latest 7 **** "Made me eat my words about improv" Scotsgay "With them by our side, we don’t need Bruce Willis to save us on Armageddon day. We are in much better company." Hairline "No one can fail to be engaged by the vivacious sense of fun" Steve Bennett, Chortle "High calibre comedy...with their own unique style" The Argus "A very funny bunch of guys...original improv" Ed Byrne "More laughs per show than any other group I've seen" Lucy Porter "F*#king hilarious... Easily the funniest improv at the Fringe" Des Clarke "These guys are destined for big big things." Monkey Business Comedy Club "A very impressive outfit" Dr Oliver Double, lecturer in stand-up comedy and author of 'Getting The Joke' "The most innovative act working in improv today" CSR FM Press Reviews Fringe Guru - October 2009 - 4 stars The Noise Next Door - Brighton Comedy Fringe Festival Part-boyband, part-sitcom, part-troubadour-barbershop-quintet, The Noise Next Door is a multi-talented behemoth of improv comedy. Though this genre is always going to be hit or miss, the five guys from The Noise Next Door play one of the most distinctive rounds of quick-fire musical improv I’ve seen in a long time. A disparate rabble of musicians and actors, each brings the best of their distinctive personalities to the show. The punchlines come thick and fast - a testament to the instinctive wit of each performer - and we marvelled at their ability to carry off one another’s jokes and follow their implicit narratives. Unfailingly funny and endearing, the boys engaged the audience for most of the show, but came up against obstacles in the face of uninspired suggestions from the crowd. Starting off with infectious enthusiasm, the team volleyed some tricky topics with excellent timing, creating a prog-rock epic around the subject of The Hadron Collider Apocalypse. Involving the audience in a couple of skits also proved to be a hit: they found comic gold even in the dingy kitchens of a McDonald’s restaurant, using lightning-fast reactions to keep the momentum up. Despite some particularly vague plot suggestions from the audience, the guys maintained an impressive amount of energy and, when backed into a corner, smashed their way out with a power ballad or two. Coming up with some resourceful titles to fit the "under the sea" location suggested by the audience, Hidin' from Poseidon was a particular highlight. Unfortunately the show lost direction in the latter half, despite a strong format and inventive themes. I was left wishing for a faster pace, as they struggled to mime a particularly sarcastic suggestion thrown up from the crowd. Still, despite some lyrical lethargy toward the end, the boyband-serenade finale was brilliant - and I left the show humming along to one of their spontaneously-composed songs, which is more than could be said for some West End productions! The Noise Next Door, given a creative and willing audience, is a great evening's entertainment, with quick wits and musical accomplishment to rival any other. It's just a shame that the team fell victim to their audience this evening, leaving them making the best of some crude and banal subject matter. Fringe Review - September 2009 - 5 stars The Noise Next Door - Improv Comedy The atmosphere was electric as we walked into Upstairs at Three and Ten due to upbeat music playing in the background as well as some people buzzing with excitement due to having seen the show before. The stage was a simple set up with just three chairs in an empty space and no stage lights, giving the impression of a more informal set up as well as neutral space where anything could happen. I had no idea what to expect until The Noise Next Door troupe were introduced and surprised us all by leaping onto the stage and engaging us right from the start with their energy, cheeky smiles and vibrancy. What followed was an hour of non-stop madness, fun and pure entertainment. The feel to the evening reminded me somewhat of the improvisational show ‘Whose Line is it Anyway’ due to the interaction with the audience and the different scenarios that developed. The major difference between the show and the television programme was that The Noise Next Door has a more daring and cutting edge to them, always challenging boundaries and never stopping for breath. That’s what gives the show life. Highlights of some of the sketches included ‘Disaster’, Improvised Songs, ‘Mission’ and ‘Forgetful Storyteller’. All relied on interaction with the audience to give them impetus to work with within the scenes, but two scenes got members of the audience up on stage to ‘help them out’. The way each actor handled the sequences was just great to watch. It was tight, slick and you couldn’t help but get involved. It was a laugh a minute all the way through, especially when they had to change characters! What made it particularly work though was their wonderful listening and communication skills - comedy is difficult enough to pull off, but put improvisation on top of it and if you don’t have the dedication, it can go horribly wrong. This did not happen here. In fact, the impression given was they were so close as a group that they were naturally in tune with each other. But the indication of how good they were, was that if something did go wrong like corpsing with laughter or getting too caught up in the moment, they would make it part of the act! That’s what makes this group stand out from the rest - pure genius! This is definitely one hour of entertainment that is un-missable. They perform on a regular basis, so keep checking their website for further details. Hairline - August 2009 - 4 stars The Noise Next Door: OtherWorld - Edinburgh Fringe Festival Welcome to OtherWorld, a show where you decide where you are, what happens, and who is with you. Improv comedies can be slightly repetitive and formulaic, but The Noise Next Door has taken the improvisation formula and turned it upside down. They won’t just sing and dance for you from your suggestions, just for the hell of it. This time, there is a world to build, and they need the audience to help them create it. With the underlying theme of building a new planet (since Earth has been destroyed) and the obvious audience’s participation, these five talented and cheeky lads will give you on the spot the new world’s national anthem and laws, as well as characterise themselves as the survivors from Earth, or tell you a story about the need to save the new world from an impending attack. Sounds weird? It is. Sounds fun? It most certainly is, and more. The one hour show flies by, and the five leads chemistry and charisma can be felt around the auditorium. They bounce ideas from each other, come up with the most hilarious of situations and all while making it seem easy and simple. They are, without a doubt, the best improv group in the Fringe this year around. And the beauty of it is that, since each day the suggestions (and therefore what happens on stage) change, each day you get to see a completely different show. So what better way to end a busy day at the Fringe than to come along to the C venue, and enjoy the fantastic comedy from the The Noise Next Door group!? With them by our side, we don’t need Bruce Willis to save us on Armageddon day. We are in much better company. Scotsgay - August - 4 stars The Noise Next Door: OtherWorld - Edinburgh Fringe Festival Improvisational comedy is something I am usually very wary of; at constant risk of looking contrived, and too regularly requiring the comedians to work the unworkable and keep it funny. But, despite my initial reservations, The Noise Next Door are rare in that they are not just a good improv group, but they are a brilliant one. All five of them carry their weight, and they have clearly been working together for a while as they all effortlessly set up some brilliant punchlines for each other, which the audience appreciates rapturously. As I said, the most obvious pit-fall of an improv show is it coming across as contrived, and too structured, but with The Noise Next Door, this is not a problem. Working on the incredibly loose narrative that they have landed on a mysterious planet, the only obvious constant in the show was the nature of the games they’d play. All in all, it’s a great show that made me eat my words about improv. Groggy Squirrel - August 2009 The Noise Next Door: OtherWorld - Edinburgh Fringe Festival It’s not often you walk out at the end of a show listening to people ringing their friends about how good the show was. This is a team of six gentlemen, one with a guitar, performing what can best be described as an extended ‘Who’s Line Is It Anyway’ set on another world. The show starts with Earth being destroyed and the survivors having to settle a new world. From here, the audience is invited to make suggestions about the world, survivors and other important decisions. The audience on the night I was there was loud, energetic and determined to have their say, all perfect for an improv show. The cast were very quick with the jokes and puns and the story progressed through a series of songs and sketches to the unlikely conclusion of the show. Every exciting finale of the show can apparently be viewed online so you can see the results of your night’s entertainment and compare the suggestions to previous shows. This is a fast, well executed comedy hour from a team of talented improvisers and it will have you rolling on the floor with laughter. ThreeWeeks - August 2009 - 5 stars The Noise Next Door: OtherWorld - Edinburgh Fringe Festival A reviewer would have to think very hard before not giving this show five stars. What fault have they found? Is it in the show? Or is it, as seems more likely, in the reviewer's own bitter and jealous heart? This energetic improv show is propelled by audience suggestions and the performers' supernaturally quick minds. It's like Derren Brown does improv. “What's that, audience? A three-minute comic song about a toothpaste factory and Siberian flour? Well, as it happens, I have just such a song tattooed on my back!” I'm tempted to see this show again in an attempt to learn their secrets, but I fear that performances such as these are simply beyond the capability of mortals. Fringe Review - June 2009 - 4 stars The Noise Next Door - Brighton Fringe Festival This was an adrenalin filled performance, delivered with a lot of panache and punchy, energy-filled comedy acting from a troupe that was uniformly good, not afraid to self-parody and also ready to pack in the next one-liner or plot-change. They appeared to be enjoying themsevles throughout and there was a commitment, matched by technique and talent that would allow them to hold up their heads with pride in Chicago. Here we were, faced with five young male performers, each sporting a coloured tie, more than ready to gather in our audience suggestions which serve as the fuel for improvised comedy. Jane Eyre turning into Mary Poppins was a particular personal favourite. Pace and energy are real strengths of this 100% committed improv group. There was sometimes too much reliance on words and the delivery of clever one-liners at the expense of more physical playfulness. The audience were clearly enjoying it all and the hour rushed by. The Noise Next Door are hungry for audience suggestions and we didn't always provide them which much to go on on the evening I attended. The Three and Ten is an intimate space and impro comedy really does require its audience to fully pariticpate, espcially in small spaces where we can see the whites of the performers' eyes. As an audience we didn't always deliver, and The Noise Next Door had to work overtime to make use of the sometimes mediocre ideas we fed them. But they did it with impressive skill and wit, and the show often succeeded in rising to its fullest height to deliver the necessary strong comedy punch. ThreeWeeks - May 2009 - 5 stars The Noise Next Door - Brighton Fringe Festival When it comes to the awesome art of improvised comedy, one is often put in mind of the endless repeats of the now decrepit 'Whose Line Is It Anyway?' Yet, after just an hour of sublime timing, undeniable charisma and the embodiment of team spirit, the five impressively-young entertainers of The Noise Next Door reinvigorate the sub-genre all for themselves. No superlatives do justice to the fresh-faced quintet who, directed almost entirely by audience interaction, deliver hilarity on demand from spontaneous cues. Put quite simply, in terms of turning a somewhat dauntingly blank canvas into a comic masterpiece to survive the glare of the centre stage, these guys could give a foolhardy chameleon a lesson in the meaning of adaptability. Latest 7 - May 2009 - 4 stars The Noise Next Door - Brighton Fringe Festival Slick, savvy and a little bit saucy. The Noise Next Door improvised comedy group provided a fast-paced and thoroughly impressive show. They use highly entertaining games and templates from which to improvise, taking their cues from the suggestions and lives of the audience. A contemporary take on improvising, these five fellas worked tightly and generously together, sharply turned out and full of energy and devotion to a good gag. Funny and rarely missing a beat, this is the polished R’n'B of improv. ThreeWeeks - August 2008 The Improphecy Chronicles Tired of cocky comedians trying to prove how wacky and post-ironic they are? Bored of experimental dance theatre attempting to convey the true sense of what it means to have your skin on inside out? Fret no longer, people, for I have the cure. Well, I don't personally, but these guys do. Leaving pretensions at the door, The Noise charm the audience with their unaffected style and slick improv. Picking audience members at random, they construct the show around whomever and whatever they find with hilarious results. You name it, they'll sing it. And with a whole new barrel of improvised laughs every night, you need never have to go to a crap show again. The List - August 2008 The Improphecy Chronicles Despite a denture-mangling title, this crew of young lads delivers a straightforward improv show, taking turns to act out skits based on audience suggestion. What sets them apart is their great chemistry and the genuine sense of joy they bring to the stage. Although a few sketches slightly outstay their welcome, there are very few misfires, and their skills are surprisingly well honed. InQuire Student Newspaper - January 2008 The Noise Next Door, Canterbury’s hottest new comedy act. If you were in the vicinity of the Aphra studio on campus recently, talk of armadillo fornication and cardboard chainsaw murder, may have unsettled you. However, be assured, it was not the murmurings of a crazed cult, but the debut of comedy act ‘The Noise Next Door’. Inspired by popular improv-comedy shows, such as ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ and ‘Mock The Week’, The Noise Next Door is a Canterbury-based, five-piece comedy group with an exciting future ahead of them. The all-male collective showcased a free performance at the Aphra studio, which kicked off a succession of gigs around Britain, including dates at the Monkeybusiness Comedy Club in Camden, the Brighton Fringe Festival, the Gulbenkian theatre, and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. It was a great turn-out on the night, and spirits and expectations were high. Luckily, the group did not disappoint, and immediately exploded before the audience in a series of energetic games, shunning the need for any tepid warm-up jokes or ‘crowd-testers’. The hour-long set was well structured, with fast-paced and varied improvisational games, including live musical accompaniment and great interaction with the audience. Before the show started, audience members were asked to fill in forms with suggestion that were used by the guys to create characters, songs and scenrios on the spot. This sense of audience involvement really ensured the unpredictability and subsequent hilarity of the performance. It made a refreshing change to watch talented performers having to think on their feet, rather than re-enacting a rehearsed script. On the subject of performers, the collective quick wit, vocal talent and energy of the five guys, was really what made the night a success. The on stage interaction between Charlie Granville, Tom Livingstone, Tom Houghton, Sam Pacelli and Matthew Grant, was easy and fluid, and resulted in some hilariously sharp banter. The guys looked the part as well, wearing all black with each member adding his own twist by donning a different coloured, quirky tie. The simplicity of the set and lack of any major props did little to detract from the vibrancy of the characters and scenarios that the group admirably crafted from the sometimes rather bizarre, suggestions of the audience. Any comedic group that can instantly invent entertaining and vaguely rational narrative, involving an armadillo, a cardboard chainsaw and burping, is a comedic group worth seeing. The night was great fun and I’d recommend any ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ fans to check it out. Laughter is guaranteed. Paula Croggen, InQuire.