The Court Jesters

Origins

Theatresports at The Court Theatre began in 1987 under the direction of Bryan Aitken and Judie Douglass. This was largely due to the upswing in popularity of improvised theatre internationally and the desire to introduce it to a New Zealand audience. The popularity of the style led to the formation of a permanent improvisational wing of The Court Theatre under the moniker "The Court Jesters" in late 1989.

In 1990 The Court Jesters manager Michael Robinson began a late-night improvised comedy show titled Scared Scriptless, at an 11pm timeslot every Friday at The Court Theatre. Scared Scriptless still runs to this day, and as such is the longest-running (and continuously running) show in New Zealand. Original members of the company were John Hudson, Patrick Duffy, Geoff Dolan, KC Kelly, Greg Cooper, Ross Gumbley, Cal Wilson, Simon Peacock, Susan Fogarty, Matthew Gould, Kevin Smith, Craig Cooper, Carl Nixon, Andie Spargo and Michael Robinson.

1990s

During the rest of the 1990s the Jesters expanded their repertoire with corporate entertainment and teaching improv/theatresports to high schools (as part of the "Theatresports in Schools" programme) and community improvisation classes. The Jesters also had considerable success with dinner theatre including a show at Mona Vale called The Wedding.

In 1994 The Court Jesters sent a team of improvisors to the World Theatresports Championships in Los Angeles. Teams from the UK, South Africa, Canada, Australia, Denmark, America, New Zealand, The Netherlands and other countries competed. New Zealand's team, comprising Simon Peacock, Cal Wilson, Susan Fogarty and Greg Cooper, won the competition.

The late 90s saw the company push the boundaries of improvisational practice through script-based improv works such as I Spy, The X-Philes, Blood, and Doctor Pussy Finger Says No To Tomorrow. The company's first fully scripted work was The Complete History of New Zealand (Abridged), first presented in Christchurch in 1998. Their only other fully scripted play was A Fistful of Dolores which premièred in 2002. The Complete History of New Zealand (Abridged) continues to be presented throughout the country, most recently back in Christchurch in 2008 as part of the Summertimes festival, and produced by The Outwits (see 2000s section). The company also pioneered a school holiday theatre programme using tight casts of three to four actors and scripts that could effectively use the main stage sets for daytime performances. The Court Theatre continues to use this production model for holiday performances.

Alongside the newfound confidence with scripted and part-scripted work, The Court Jesters continued to explore pure improv. The 1997 season of Abandon Script used an approach that saw a full 90-minute show generated from a single word offered by the audience.

2000s

By the early 2000s, natural attrition saw the company with only one original member (Andie Spargo). In 2002 the then-current members, dissatisfied with their relationship with The Court Theatre, left to form their own corporate entertainment/improvisation business, 'The Outwits'. In response, The Court Theatre announced that it was reforming The Court Jesters under the management of Nicola Wellbourn and the direction and tutelage of Patrick Duffy (one of the original Jesters who had left the troupe in the early-mid 90s). They held open auditions and from the various actors, singers, entertainers, comedians, street performers, and improvisors who applied formed the new troupe of Court Jesters in December 2002, effectively a reboot for the company.

These new Jesters took over Scared Scriptless, Theatresports In Schools and corporate entertainment at the beginning of 2003. Effectively starting from scratch, the Jesters had to rebuild a fan base and increase audiences for Scared Scriptless, as well as attract more corporate entertainment work and retain the goodwill of the Court Theatre management. While described as a "hard slog" by many, progress was made financially and artistically.

In 2005 Kirsty Gillespie took over as manager of the Court Jesters with Jeff Clark remaining as assistant to the manager. While Patrick Duffy remained an active member of the Jesters, Ross Gumbley (another original Court Jester who had moved to Centrepoint Theatre in the mid 90s, and then returned to take the position of Associate Artistic Director of The Court Theatre in 2000) took a much more active role in the performance side of the company.

At the beginning of 2006 the Court Jesters enjoyed a marked surge in numbers at Scared Scriptless (coupled with a change of the start time to 10pm) and continued to build audiences, often moving the show to the larger Court One venue to accommodate ticket sales. Ross Gumbley was appointed Artistic Director of the Court Theatre in March 2006, effectively securing the company's position.

In May 2006 the company received improvisation tutelage from Keith Johnstone to couple the rise in financial success with increased artistic standards. Scared Scriptless ended its 2006 season having set a new record for box office sales, and the continuing rise in attendances saw a second show added on Saturdays in mid-2009.

A 20th anniversary "40-Hour Improvathon" was held in 2010, featuring both current and past members of the Court Jester company.

2011 Christchurch earthquake

Following the closure of the Christchurch Arts Centre after the February 2011 Christchurch earthquake, Scared Scriptless resumed performances within three weeks and performed in a variety of venues whilst The Court Theatre constructed its new venue. Companies also hired the Court Jesters directly to perform for them, for example a law firm that was based at the PGC House, one of the two large office buildings that collapsed during the February 2011 earthquake.

After the earthquakes, shows were staged at 8 pm Fridays and Saturdays. From 10 February 2012, late-night shows of Scared Scriptless resumed in the new venue, dubbed "The Shed", in Addington.

Performers

Over the years the roster of The Jesters has changed regularly.

The original members were either acting interns at The Court Theatre or were brought in through auditions and recruitment. Members often left to pursue other careers or move overseas; subsequently people from school teams, workshops or other towns were regularly recruited into the company as "Associate" Jesters - jesters who played Scared Scriptless semi-regularly but were not used for corporate work or permanently contracted. By the mid-1990s, many if not all of the troupe were 'second-generation' Jesters, having been coached/taught by the Court Jesters themselves and gone from Associate to Full Jestership.

When the company reformed in late 2002, many of the new troupe were garnered from the University of Canterbury Comedy Club, high school teams and other entertainment groups/organisations. Again, there were numerous reshufflings and recruitments as the company continued to evolve.

In November 2009 the troupe added 4 new members to its roster, bringing its total of regular performers to over 20.

Notable alumni

Scared Scriptless

The flagship Court Jesters show is Scared Scriptless, a short-form improvisation show on at 10pm (originally 11pm) every Friday (and, since June 2009, Saturday) at The Court Theatre. The show was established in 1990 and is New Zealand's longest-running comedy show.

Scared Scriptless is hosted by an MC, along with anywhere from 4 to 10 players, a muso (a musician who improvises the backing music) and at least one technician/stage manager (who operates the lights and sound). Players and MCs are all members of the Court Jesters and rotate frequently.

The format for the show can change from week to week but is mainly focused on shortform improvisation. Formats include Micetro, Theatresports, Gorilla Theatre and themed performances, as well as variations on these and original formats devised by the Court Jesters. Scenes are based on suggestions from the audience and often challenges/rules (also called "handles" or "games") from the MC.

Scared Scriptless is usually performed on the set of a current Court Theatre production, although in some cases rudimentary furniture and props may be used. Similarly, players often do not use any props or costumes, relying instead on mime and physicality. The usual exception is when the MC may bring along props or costumes for special scenes/games or to fit with the theme of the night.

When it debuted in 1990, Scared Scriptless was staged at 11pm on Friday nights at the Court Theatre. This timeslot continued until the beginning of 2006 when the start time was moved to 10pm which, while still remaining a late-night show, became more accessible to a wider range of the public. In mid-2009, a second weekly late-night Scared Scriptless show was added on Saturday nights due to the demands of an increased attendance.

Following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake whilst the new Court Theatre venue was being built, Scared Scriptelss was held at various locations around the city at 8pm Fridays and Saturdays. From 2012 onwards the show returned to The Court Theatre with performances at 10:15pm.

An unrelated show with the same name is performed in Sydney, Australia by Impro Australia. There is also an unrelated Scared Scriptless improv comedy troupe in Anchorage, AK, USA; another "Scared Scriptless" group in Canton, Ohio, have been performing together since May 2006.

Other performances

Beyond their primary Scared Scriptless show, the Jesters perform a wide variety of improvised and semi-scripted shows. They also regularly perform as corporate entertainers for businesses, societies, groups and festivals around Christchurch and New Zealand.

Fairyable was performed in the Christchurch Botanic Gardens in February 2004 as part of the Chistchurch City Council's "Summertimes" festival. The format of the show was a long-form improvised fairytale. In 2006 two more shows were staged to capitalise on "vacant" theatre slots in Court Two: The Early Early Late Show, essentially Scared Scriptless at an earlier time and A Very Merry Scriptless, a family-friendly improvisation show running for the four weekends before Christmas. Both shows had very strong box office numbers and, in 2007, three devised shows were scheduled in the rebranded Court Two (now "The Forge"): Radio Ha Ha (an improvised radio show that was also aired on Radio New Zealand); Chatterbox (an interview show with improvised segments based on guests' stories) and a revival season of A Very Merry Scriptless. All had solid attendance and positive critical acclaim.

The Jesters staged Pulp William (a long-form mash-up of the Shakespeare and Tarantino genres), "Scriptless Uncut" (an Oscars-themed improv show) and A Very Merry Scriptless as a part of the 2008 Forge season. The latter show is scheduled to return as an annual production, each time with a slightly different take on Christmas: in 2008, this took the form of an improvised retelling of Dickens' A Christmas Carol and in 2009 the story revolved around the nativity and the Magi.

The Early Early Late Show returned as part of the 2009 Forge season: both The Early Late Show and A Very Merry Scriptless will return in 2010.

From 25–27 June 2010 the Court Jesters staged a 30-hour "Improv Marathon" to celebrate the twentieth anniversary of "Scared Scriptless", with several original/previous members returning for guest performances.