Clare Plested, Do Not Adjust Your Stage

Written by: Si Hawkins
Published: Friday 4th March 2022

Would anyone happen to know what a Wunderkammer is? No? Us neither, but judicious googling reveals that it's a cabinet full of curiosities or a 'room of wonder', which is probably the relevant definition here. Because The Wunderkammer is also the new show by improv troupe Do Not Adjust Your Stage, on at Camden People's Theatre as we speak.

As DNAYS' Clare Plested explains, these evenings are intriguingly TEDtalk-like, "where expert guest speakers inspire a show of improvised comedy. It's incredibly silly, totally made up (well, the improv bit is) and will feature a different guest speaker each night.

"Our speakers include Sam Wong, assistant news editor for New Scientist magazine, and Helen O'Hara, a film journalist, writer and editor with Empire magazine. Helen's talk will be inspired by her new book Women vs Hollywood: The Fall and Rise of Women in Film."

Which you don't get at every improv night. Plested is also a well-regarded comedy writer/performer - long-listed for the Caroline Aherne Bursary and an alumni of the BBC Writersroom - while also logging up lots of high-level improv training; ad-lib boot camp. So what else are DNAYS up to in 2022?

"2022 has some exciting gigs in store including our return to the Machynlleth Comedy Festival, and our regular nights at Hoopla and the Free Association in London."

But where did Plested first ply her trade? Also in North London, it turns out.

First gig?

My very first stand-up gig was at The Kings Head in Crouch End - I was 19 and had just finished a course on stand-up as part of my degree at Middlesex University. It was packed because all our friends came to support including my boyfriend's parents and his three aunties. It went down very, very well - could this be because I knew everyone in the room?

My first improv gig was at the Free Association - similarly after having just completed a course. Again, it was packed with a supportive crowd including my boyfriend's parents and his three aunties (yes, we're still together. Mostly because his extended family greatly improve my audience numbers). It went down very well too.

Again, could this be audience bias? Who cares, I felt brilliant.

Favourite show, ever?

Pre-pandemic it was an improv show with the Ladies of FA County in New York, for the Del Close Marathon.

Corny, but my new favourite gig was at a DNAYS show between lockdowns at [improv theatre] Hoopla in 2020. It was our first show back since covid; we felt very rusty and the audience size was greatly reduced because of restrictions. But my god did we smash it. It felt electric making people laugh again and so strange to think we used to do this nearly every night.

Worst gig?

It was with three other improvisers - none of us had met each other before. Was painstakingly awful. One of the improvisers came off after and said 'well, that didn't go too bad' and I knew instantly we'd be firm friends - which we are. You've got to love an optimist.

Which one person influenced your comedy life most significantly?

Can I have two?! I've been very lucky to collaborate with many people over the years but the longest comedy relationship I've had is with my writing/performing partners Adam Brown and Amanda Wilsher. They're the funniest pair of immature twits to be around and I've learnt everything with them/from them.

And who's the most disagreeable person you've come across in the business?

I honestly can't think of anyone so that obviously makes me the c***. The improv community is ridiculously kind, friendly and funny. Probably because teamwork and play is at the heart of what we do so people tend to be super supportive. I've made the best of friends performing improv.

Is there one gag/scene you loved, that audiences inexplicably didn't?

I find it hard to love an improv scene that the audience doesn't get/enjoy to some extent - everything we do is about the audience so if they don't get it we've gone wrong...

In terms of a written sketch - I'll never forget a character Adam, Amanda and I created for a show about a woman who refuses to have a drink because she'd had a liver transplant and ever since drinking alcohol has the effect of turning her into Shirley Bassey. Audiences loved it but at one venue someone came up to us concerned that we might upset people who had had liver transplants.

If forced to choose, what's the best bit of improv you ever came up with?

I love playing a builder. I'm married to one so if I can show off my knowledge about type one or type two gravel I feel smugly 'method'.

Any reviews, heckles or post-gig reactions stick in the mind?

It wasn't a heckle but we had an audience member with a very distinctive laugh - like a seal. It soon became hard to tell if the audience were laughing at us or at the seal impersonator.

How do you feel about where your career is at, right now?

I was on the BBC Comedy Writersroom last year and am now developing projects for film and TV - it's a new direction and I'm really enjoying it. Also looking forward to performing more improv this year - can't wait to kick it off with the Wunderkammer. Hint hint, dear reader.

The Wunderkammer is at Camden People's Theatre from 3-5 March. Info & tickets