Maidstone makes it up as it goes along
Plus more with Dan Abnett, we review Fifi's Italian in Maidstone, upcoming Kent events, news in brief, and more
Improv comedy seems to be having something of a resurgence in Kent, with the second Maidstone Improv Festival happening next weekend. We’ve been talking to the organiser to find out what it’s all about. Further down, we continue our conversation with legendary comic writer and novelist Dan Abnett, we review Fifi’s Italian in Maidstone, look at upcoming Kent events, news in brief, and more
Maidstone makes it up as it goes along
Maidstone’s improv festival returns next weekend, bringing unscripted comedy and workshops to the town. We spoke to Creative Director Christopher Riley to find out more…
Silence is usually fatal in comedy. A stand-up dreads it, a sitcom edits around it, and sketch writers plan so it never happens. But silence is where things begin for the performers walking onto stages in Maidstone next weekend.
The Maidstone Improv Festival is back for its second outing, bringing together groups from Kent, Sussex, London and beyond to test what happens when you throw away the script and hand control to the audience. “All improv shows are based on the audience suggestions, so every show is different,” says Creative Director Christopher Riley. “It makes it more inclusive. You’re less likely to see a stand-up you don’t like or disagree with.”
The first festival ran for nine days last year. This time, the organisers have cut it down to a single weekend of shows and workshops, a tighter run that reflects what they learned from the debut. Riley’s own group, County Town Improv, had already built links with performers across the south east, and opening the doors more widely brought in applications from Brighton and London. “We’re bringing as many of them as possible together for one big weekend,” he says.
It is a statement of intent for a town with little comedy infrastructure. “Outside of some touring comedians who come to the Hazlitt, there really isn’t a comedy scene here,” Riley says. Music dominates Maidstone’s cultural calendar, from the Fringe Festival to the River Festival, while County Town Improv have been the only comedy act at the Fringe for two years running. “Maidstone has a fantastic live music scene, but that’s not for everyone. Improv comedy would be a good string to add to that bow.”
The aim is not just to put Maidstone on the map but to give Kent something different. Canterbury Festival and Faversham Fringe both include plenty of comedy, but nothing has focused purely on improv until now. There are enough groups around to justify it, with Medway Playlab (recently featured on our sister title, Local Authority) in Rochester, Folkestone Improv Theatre, Flock Improv, Happy Box of Imps, and Canterbury Improv all popping up around Kent. Maidstone is an easy gathering point in the middle of that patchwork. “Maidstone is well placed for all those groups to come together,” Riley says.
Part of the appeal is its unpredictability. “From an audience perspective, there is a thrill in that not only do you not know what’s going to happen next, but the performers don’t either,” Riley says. The shows are built on shouted suggestions, the kind of participation that would horrify most stand-up comics. That energy makes it feel less intimidating and less solitary than other forms of comedy. “Improv is a team game. It works best when everyone on stage is helping each other out, and that really lends itself to building friendships and a sense of belonging. You don’t really get that with stand-up.”
The festival wants audiences involved in more ways than shouting. Alongside the shows are workshops for children and adults. The aim is to convert spectators into participants, whether for confidence, public speaking or just the pleasure of messing around. “Everyone can do improv, that’s the joy of it,” Riley says. “It’s all about engaging in that sense of fun and playfulness that we all have as children, and can be hard to get back in touch with as adults.”
There is a serious edge, too. The first two years have been funded through Maidstone Borough Council’s Creative Communities Grant, which drew on Levelling Up money. That support has now ended. “Ultimately, to make this a regular event, we need bums on seats,” Riley says. The workshops are filling up, but the long-term future depends on audiences paying to see the shows.
The festival is also part of a wider attempt to broaden Maidstone’s cultural identity. The town already has LitFest and the Kent Art Collective pushing things in new directions. Comedy gives the town another strand. “We want to help people discover that there’s more going on in Maidstone than you might realise, as well as, primarily, giving them a really good laughter-filled evening out,” Riley says.
Comedy has always been a gamble, and improv more than most. But for Maidstone, it is also an experiment in whether the town can stretch beyond the dominance of live music. With new groups springing up across Kent, there is a community of performers ready to take the chance. The open question is whether the audience will follow.
“If you ever enjoyed Whose Line Is It Anyway? or I’m Sorry I Haven’t A Clue, then you’ll find something to love at Maidstone Improv Festival,” Riley says. “So come and enjoy it in your own county town.”
Maidstone might not know what is coming next. But maybe that is the whole point.
Maidstone Improv Festival runs 19 - 21 September at various locations in Maidstone town centre. Full details and ticket information are available on the festival website.
In brief
🚜 J Myatt & Co, a Cliffe farm, is featured in a new advert by M&S. In it, chef Tom Kerridge visits the farm to examine their plums.
🎤 ‘cene magazine have interviewed Kent comedian Lou Sanders about her upcoming ‘homecoming’ show in Ramsgate.
🎛️ Louder Than War reviews Dizzee Rascal at Dreamland.
Aliens vs Predator vs IP Man
As part of our serialised conversation with Maidstone author Dan Abnett, we turn to Alien, both in the comics Dan wrote and an award-winning computer game…
Scifi movie universes Dan has worked in have ranged from Planet of the Apes, Alien, Predator, and Alien vs Predator. Dark Horse Comics published these titles for an extended period. “There was loads of stuff going on at Dark Horse. In fact, my Terminator story was quite early on, just after T2 came out.” Dan has worked on so many of these franchises, “There's going to be others that I'm forgetting.” He worked with his wife, the writer Nic Vincent, on Tomb Raider novels and novels for the ITV series, Primeval, “Which got me a set visit and to meet them all, which is lovely”.
Alien vs Predator speaks to a significant focus in pop culture: What happens when X fights Y? Who wins for Dan? “Human interest.” How do you keep that interesting? “Alien vs Predator is quite interesting because I love the early Alien and Predator movies.” Dan notes that the interesting thing about the Aliens vs Predator concept was, “and this wasn't me writing it, but it had been an incredibly brilliant comic book from Dark Horse, which they then went, ‘Well, why don't we make that as a movie?’”
When Dan was asked to enter the universe, it was post-Prometheus. “They wanted this massive crossover which took all of the elements of the franchise, Alien and Aliens, Predator, Alien vs Predator as a distinct franchise, and Prometheus and tied them all together in a big story.” For Dan, it was a complicated assignment, made tougher by the fact that “the boss of Dark Horse had his own ideas.”
Dan focused on creating a cast of human characters “that we could relate to, that would take us through encounters with all these elements and cross them over.” Dan wrote mini stories into the mini-series. “Each bit was tailored to the flavour of that particular property. Dan wrote Alien material as “haunted house spooky.” Aliens naturally was “militaristic.” The Aliens vs Predators was “literally being caught in the middle of that clash when those things came together. That was fun.”
In terms of Alien though, more significant was Dan’s work on the computer game Alien: Isolation, which won two BAFTAs. “That was a big deal.” Dan was essentially asked to be the project’s lead writer. “That was several years' work. It's a formidably brilliant game, not because of the story. It's the most amazing looking thing.” Released as an official sequel to the original Alien film. “There'd been lots of Aliens games before, but they'd always been Colonial Marines Aliens sequels.”
The difference is that this was a survival horror instead of a straight shoot-em-up, “with an AI-controlled alien, so it never appeared in the same place.” The game perfectly recreated the interior of the Nostromo, “although it wasn't Nostromo, it was a sister ship.” To this day, it is still considered a scary game. “It still terrifies people who play it because it's incredibly creepy.”
Dan tells me that when they had 30 minutes of playable game, they got the gaming press in to preview it and “they would freak out and one guy fell off his chair.” Another took “45 minutes to play through the 20 minutes because he was doing it so slowly, because he didn't want to get jumped on. It had the most amazing atmosphere and was very different to what the other games would always be like, which were much more, ‘Here's a pulse rifle, go and kill something.’ But the most you could have here, if lucky, was a flamethrower.”
Out to Brunch: Fifi’s Italian in Maidstone
On Wednesday, I was in Maidstone to meet a Kent councillor for an upcoming interview. Whilst in town, I went to Fifi’s Italian for lunch, as I was assured it had excellent pizza. However, I got there slightly after 11 due to scheduling and was given the breakfast menu. Curious as to what an Italian breakfast had to offer, I discovered a menu with English, Irish, and garden breakfast options.
Before I reveal how I resolved that cultural dilemma, let’s take a moment to talk briefly about Fifi’s. Part of the Mu Mu estate, it has a slightly confusing entrance, at least for this writer. There were people sitting outside. I went inside, and it was empty. I went back outside and was assured no, I should go inside. Outside is a modern, chic café. Inside was a slightly dark, baroque setting with a very curious choice of wall decoration. I was, of course, sat inside.
I ordered the English breakfast with tea. It seemed the appropriate thing to do with all the flags everywhere. Because I wanted to give you an insight into the full Fifi’s breakfast experience, I also ordered a fruit smoothie and a pain au raisin. I was informed that the breakfast also came with toast, and ordered sourdough.
I foolishly thought that the ‘with toast’ element would mean that the toast would come with the breakfast, and the pastry would come with the tea. I was very wrong. The toast came first with complimentary butter and jam. Frankly, it was delicious. Some of the nicest toast I’ve been served with breakfast. The tea was fine, and the smoothie very cold. It was enjoyable in that berries blended straight out of the freezer way.
The English breakfast was to a really high standard, except for the cold beans. Excellent sausage, well done bacon, lovely black pudding and an exceptionally well-seasoned mushroom. Once I had finished all that, the pastry was sat waiting in the middle of the table, served last. It was, to be fai,r a very good pastry.
I will have to return to Fifi’s at some point to try the pizza. In the meantime, if you are going to a meeting at County Hall, go to Fifi’s first for breakfast.
Upcoming Kent events
🎤 14 - 15 Sep - Josh Widdicombe: Not My Cup of Tea // Popular TV comedian and original Taskmaster champion plays two nights in Kent. Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury. Tickets £33.50.
🎤 Fri 19 Sep - Lou Sanders: No Kissing in the Bingo Hall // Kent comedian and more recent Taskmaster champion performs hometown show. Granville Theatre, Ramsgate. Tickets £22.
⚓ Sat 20 Sep - Festival of Chatham Reach // Activities and river-based excitement in the centre of Chatham. Sun Pier House, Chatham. Free.
Footnotes
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