Blanche Improv

Founding (June 2023)

Lelda founded Blanche Improv in June 2023, initially establishing house teams to give course graduates performance opportunities. The improv school and formal course offerings launched in January 2024.

Mission and Programming

Blanche's stated mission is to give stage time to underrepresented people on the improv stage, with a philosophy that diversity should be incidental rather than the explicit premise of any given show. The company is female-founded and female-led.

Recurring programming includes Blanche's Besties, The Blanche Improv Extravaganza, and Ride or Die. The Queens and Queers monthly jam provides dedicated performance space for women and LGBTQIA+ members. Blanche also runs the London Improv Festival.

Blanche Improv is a London long-form improv school dedicated to giving underrepresented performers stage time, founded in June 2023 by Lelda with a Queens and Queers jam and the London Improv Festival.

Blanche Improv produces weekly shows through six named house teams: Sundae (experienced ensemble, Thursdays), Limited Edition (performs The Harold on Friday nights), Stella (improvised romantic comedies with meet-cutes and dramatic arcs, alternating Fridays), Stanley (opinion-driven character comedy, alternating Fridays), Shake Before Use (performs The Deconstruction, alternating Fridays), and Knees on Toast (fast narrative improv, alternating Fridays). Regular show nights include Blanche's Besties, Ride or Die, the Blanche Improv Extravaganza, IMPROVmania, and The Spooky Show. The Queens and Queers Jam is a monthly open session for women and LGBTQIA+ performers. Blanche also produces the London Improv Festival. House team Sundae has performed at Edinburgh Improv Festival and Das Improv.

Blanche Improv was founded in June 2023 by Lelda Kapsis, who previously taught at The Improv Conspiracy in Melbourne and trained there in long-form improv from 2015 before establishing the London company. Kapsis holds a BA in Music Theatre from WAAPA (2003) and began her performance career in the original cast of the stage version of Dirty Dancing playing Lisa Houseman, bringing professional theatre discipline to the improv curriculum.

As a female-led company with an explicit mission to give stage time to underrepresented performers, Blanche Improv has carved a distinct identity within London's crowded improv market. The Queens and Queers monthly jam and the company's diversity-centered house team selection distinguish it from older London improv venues. Given its founding date of June 2023 and first classes launching in January 2024, Blanche's documented alumni impact remains nascent, but the six named house teams running within its first two years indicate rapid institutional development.