One of our top young reviewers Alex Keyse headed to Newport’s Quay Arts earlier this month to check out improv comedy group ‘The Noise Next Door’ for Brave Island. Fancy free tickets to review gigs and shows? Sign up to Brave Island for regular opportunities.

“Nothing quite prepares you for what actually happens in this show”

I was very excited at the prospect of watching “The Noise Next Door”, having seen them perform on Britain’s Got Talent, where they received four yeses and a standing ovation. Furthermore, I had read they had appeared on BBC One, BBC Three, ITV1, BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 4, and were nominated for a Chortle Award in 2014, performing alongside the likes of Michael McIntyre, Al Murray, and Harry Hill!

Nothing quite prepares you for what actually happens in this show. All I knew was that there would be a great deal of improvisation and that I might be asked to make some suggestions for the subject of some jokes. I was eager to “play my part” on cue, and determined to try and think outside the box with my contribution.

No two shows are the same, due to the constant dishing out of fresh and unheard humour. From well thought-out word plays to thrown out adult jokes, the show is sure to entertain you, perfectly targeting the audiences. The cast seems to get familiar with us watchers, making the show more personal, with us at times even risking being taken on stage. 

The show immediately gets underway with the audience laughing right from the first line. What I found fascinating was the comedians’ thought process when coming up with jokes, songs and poems about anything the audience may throw at them. A skill I would love to master, instead I like my speeches to be well prepared to the minimum details.

They make it look really easy but you can see that a lot of work goes behind preparing such a performance, which requires imagination, creativity and a great ability to be in tune with the other cast members, as they all follow the same topic, adding their personal interpretation and flair to the act they play together. This results in a hilarious ensemble of comedy you can’t resist enjoying to the full.

As the show is heavily influenced by the audience’s suggestions, the direction the act will take is hard to predict, as they try to dodge some politically incorrect proposals from the crowd and settle for something that may suit (almost) everyone.

This is a show where you let yourself go in a way. The audience is asked to point at their friends/partners sitting near them to come on stage, which some people like more than others. There is a feeling that some participants would prefer to be entertained rather than be the entertainment.

However in general, it is as if we all contributed to the success of the show, which makes it even more involving and satisfying. 

It is a good show if you like surprises. Their wit and off-the-cuff songs, scenes and characters will keep you entertained for the best part of two hours. Having said that, without wanting to spoil it for you, I’ll say that for me the most intriguing and hilarious part of the show involved some guessing by one of the four comedians who had to find out the secret combination of events, and no one can actually predict the length of this part of the gig.

I really enjoyed this show as it had me laughing out loud and made me feel part of the act myself. I would recommend this performance to anyone looking for a good laugh or a head full of thoughts and jokes to tell your friends.

Review written by Alex Keyse.