Shoot From The Hip at Hammersmith Apollo Review
Although London is infamous for its comedy scene and its multitudes of styles, one area where we shine the most is improvised comedy. Shoot From The Hip are a London based improvised comedy group who are multi award winning and also currently breaking viewing records across social media. After running shows in smaller venues for the last few years, Shoot From The Hip has now come to the Hammersmith Apollo, famous hallowed grounds for comedy performers.
On this echoing stage it would be easy for performers to feel overwhelmed at the space. However performers Tom Mayo, Sam Russell Holmes, AJ (Alexander Jeremy) and Luke Manning, relish the space and make full use of it in hilarious comedic sketches and fill the atmosphere with laughter like never before.
The audience and atmosphere was completely electric and full of feisty energy. The first half was comprised of several games, including ‘Change’, ‘Expert’, ‘Scenes’, ‘Puppet’, ‘Genre’ and ‘Freeze’. In ‘Change’ we had a romantic couple in Dorset who were both haunted by their literal ghost of exes who liked to drown anyone proposing to them. In ‘Expert’, my personal favourite of the evening, we had Mr Rigatoni crocheting bears out of pasta through the magic of mysterious nana. ‘Puppets’ had a member of the audience move the two comedians as they acted out a psychiatrist have a very interesting but 18+ relationship with their patient. In ‘Genre’ we saw a jewellery shop exchange through the lense of Shakespeare, romance, horror, sci fi and opera. In ‘Freeze’ the actors explored and rewound time in hilarious form. ‘Scenes’ was also very hilarious in we see a party where the actors trick AJ into figuring out their characters, for example, whether Shrek is their son, an engineer in love turns up or a magician is always in the midst of a trick but never quite finishes. I was repeatedly impressed by not only the razor sharp wit but also the genuine kindness and camaraderie between the four performers. They were all enjoying themselves so much it was fabulous to see them make each other as well as the audience laugh.
The second half was comprised entirely of an hour long improvised play based on title suggestions from the audience. In tonight’s show this was “The King of The Underground Orchestra”. Set in 1897 this on the spot story unfurled into a dazzling tale of music wafting from the gutters and breaking from the status quo in a blaze of glory and justice. There were plenty of in jokes recycled from earlier in the evening as well as fresh hilarious ideas throughout. I was slightly saddened they didn’t do any Phantom of the Opera or Hadestown jokes about the music of the night underground but perhaps it would have been too obvious.
Shoot From The Hip are deservedly one of the most famous improv comedy groups on the circuit currently. Their show is a guaranteed blast of fun which will blow away all your cares and leave you feeling full of joy. My chest hurt from laughter the next morning and I was filled with fond memories for it. This seems to be another step on the ladder of success for this group and I sincerely can’t wait to see them achieve further milestones soon. If you’re going to see one improv comedy show in London make it this one.
★★★★★
Written by Cathie for Theatre and Tonic, October 2026.
