Apparently, not everybody has fond memories of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, the hugely popular improvisational comedy TV game show. A smash hit in the UK throughout the ’90s, it enjoyed similar success stateside in the early noughties, racking up impressive guest appearances including David ‘The Hoff’ Hasslehoff, Whoopi Goldberg and Jerry Springer. It was the show’s spontaneous format, where the studio audience would shout out scenes for the comedians/contestants to act out (resulting in memorable moments such as Britain’s rather well-spoken Josie Lawrence screeching a heavy metal song about a TV set), that captured people’s imagination.
But for Richard Vranch, the TV show’s in-house musician, that success is bittersweet. ‘Me and all the guys you will know from the TV show began improvising together as a team 25 years ago,’ he tells Time Out in somewhat clipped tones. ‘The TV show is a rip off of our live show. They nicked the idea.’
Vranch is appearing in the live show of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, which is on stage at the Emirates Ballroom, Crowne Plaza Abu Dhabi, for one night only. Although fans of the TV show will remember Vranch as the man behind the piano, he is actually a comedian in his own right, and in the live show will be improvising scenes with fellow comedians from London’s Comedy Store Players rather than providing the music. ‘If you liked the TV show, the live show’s 10 times better,’ he assures us. ‘It’s a totally different experience and it’s the original experience.’
If you’re getting the feeling that Vranch is a bit annoyed about his live act being hijacked for TV, so is Time Out. ‘I wouldn’t like to suggest I’m very grumpy about it, because I’m not,’ he protests. There’s no resentment at all? ‘To be honest, personally my only regret is that I shouldn’t have ever done the TV show,’ he says, which sounds like a pretty big regret to us. ‘I’ve never worked as a musician before or since, I’m not a musician, and yet some people think I am because that’s what I was seen doing on the programme. I’m a comedian and an actor by profession. When people come and see the live show they’re like, “You’re really funny, why weren’t you on the TV show?” and you think, “Well, the producer”.’ That’s the first of many digs Vranch makes at Dan Patterson, TV’s Whose Line’s executive producer. He also downplays the importance of the programme to himself and his fellow comedians: ‘It’s odd that people are so familiar with it when it’s such a tiny part of our distant childhood. And yet what we do four, five nights a week now is completely present and vibrant and ongoing. The live show’s the thing.’
Still, Vranch did appear on the TV show for a long time, and the current live show is named after it. ‘For all my criticisms of them nicking the idea, of course the TV show was seen all around the world, so as an advert for us to do the live show it’s been wonderful,’ he concedes. ‘It’s a double-edged thing; as ever with TV, you need the exposure. But from my point of view, the TV isn’t a particularly happy memory because I was very frustrated sat behind the piano.’
So why does it work so much better live? Vranch says it’s the comedians’ interaction with the audience that makes it, which is lacking if you’re watching it from your living room. ‘You actually get to change how the show goes and what’s in the show,’ he explains. ‘Unlike stand-ups who use the audience to take the p*** out of the whole time, we work with the audience in a very positive way.’ Without a host, it’s up to the comedians to decide when to stop a scene and start the next, which Vranch says happens ‘organically’. ‘We’re doing free improvs, rather than Clive [Anderson, the UK TV show’s host] pushing a buzzer and all that b******s, which actually slows it down.’ To keep pace, audience members are asked to write suggestions on a piece of paper in the interval, which are then pulled from a bowl in the second half to inspire free-style sketches.
Given that Vranch is so insistent he’s not a musician, will the musical games be missing? ‘If the moment’s right we’ll do it,’ he says. Don’t expect a ho-down, though. ‘We all hated the ho-down thing and openly abused [Dan Patterson] in the studio for it. That was just s***. That was him thinking, “Oh, let’s finish with a song”. The first time we did it I improvised it and then Dan said, “I want it like that every time”. You’re hired to improvise and then you’re told you can only do the music. Then you’re told to do it like that every time.’ But let’s not make out that he’s grumpy about it. Honestly, he’s not.
Emirates Ballroom, Crowne Plaza Hotel, June 8, Dhs120, 02 616 6122 or f&b@cpabudhabi.ae.
