The Pirates of the Dotonbori, that is, an Osaka-based improvisation
group who put on shows at various venues throughout the year. Think of a
local-based “Whose Line Is It Anyway?” show and that’s what these guys are
except their shows are geared towards a bi-lingual audience so you will find
jokes being played out both in English and Japanese. They also as a
side-project do similar jokes as Improv Everywhere (http://improveverywhere.com/)
the latest being going to Kansai airport to “welcome” foreign guests to Japan with
signs, flowers, and balloons who were not expecting any welcome and are unsure of what to do when they get one from strangers! I have yet to
see a “No Pants Day” on the subway trains in Japan though (like Improv
Everywhere has been doing), but perhaps they did that as well and I don’t know
about it…
Anyway, I finally got around to checking them out at a local
bar here in Osaka’s Shinsaibashi called Balabushka’s, which is a huge (by
Japanese standards) foreigner bar that has pool tables, darts, slots, etc. The
Pirates played a free show so my friends and I came around to support the guys
we know who were performing as part of the act that night, which was mainly for
an English-based audience. Many “Whose Line”-type games were played
(suggestions out of a hat from the audience, guess the crazy mime-type thing,
and various others). I won’t go into details because it was improve and as such
you really did have to be there to find it funny. Explaining it would be rather
pointless and no where near as amusing as watching it live and getting all the
in-jokes. And it was quite funny!
Anyway, it was all in good fun. I had a lovely time and I
hope to check them out at their next gig in a month at Pure http://www.clubpure.com/) coming up on March 22,
which sadly will cost a ¥2000 entrance fee – but with one drink coupon – so it’s not so bad considering many clubs and bars charge an entrance fee. And, apparently, since it costs money they will put on a longer show with more games and supposedly a lot more laughs! We'll just have to see, now won't we? ^_~
You can check out the Pirates of the Dotonbori at their
website for their next event: http://www.piratesofthedotombori.com/PiratesoftheDotombori/Welcome.html
Have fun. Laugh hard. Support the Pirates. Arrrr~
