From the archives: this article was originally published on January 8, 2020

Every performance of The Improvised Shakespeare Company is inspired by a title suggested by an audience member. This ensemble of five highly trained improv comedians then invent a full, one-time-only play based entirely on that title. How does that add up over time? Consider that The Improvised Shakespeare Company has created approximately 285 completely unique, unrehearsed plays during its 5 Denver visits.

From the prologue to the epilogue, this group of deft Shakespearean improvisers maintain a sense of play as they invent characters and plots that (most of the time) come off as remarkably faithful to Shakespeare himself. Granted, the Bard might not have chosen to end his little-known tragedy All Is True in a bloodbath involving a pack of feral … orphans. Then again: You try writing a completely new play every night, Shakespeare!

It all starts with the title, and from the thousands of fun suggestions this Chicago-born comedy company has taken and tackled over the years, founder Blaine Swen does have his personal favorites, among them The Rocky Hamlet Picture Show. He also recalls performing a show for students who chose the title Justin Bieber — as if that were a sober history play with the gravitas of Julius Caesar or Henry V. “We had to give Justin Bieber a lot of import,” added company member Joey Bland. “So in our story, he was this wandering knight who gets killed by the Brothers Jonas.

To give you a taste of the fun, consider this list of 10 of the funniest audience-suggested titles from a previous engagement:

1. 1. A Midsummer’s Bowling League
   2. The Sonnets of the Lambs
   3. The Phantom of the Globe
   4. All’s Well That Ends in Hell
   5. Three Pussycats of Verona
   6. Much Ado About the Pancreas
   7. 12th Night Stand
   8. The Taming of the Beard
   9. The Goose, the Gladiator & the Grave
   10. The Mysterious Wet Willie

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