ImproQuo

Founding (October 2015)

Eji Osigwe founded ImproQuo in Manchester in October 2015. Osigwe had spent eight years performing stand-up comedy nationally from age 17 before transitioning to comedy theatre, sketch, and improv. He launched ImproQuo to address what he saw as a gap in Manchester for comprehensive improv and character-building workshops.

Early Growth

Within months of launch, by March 2016, ImproQuo had connected with New York-based performers, gaining international reach unusually early in its existence.

Programming

ImproQuo offers structured courses at multiple levels including Level 3 scene and character work, open jams for all experience levels, and the Improv Comedy Playhouse show series.

ImproQuo brings structured scene and character-focused improv training to Manchester, founded in October 2015 by Eji Osigwe with a curriculum that quickly gained international connections.

Drunk Classics is ImproQuo's signature recurring production, a hybrid performance format originating in Madrid and popularized in Berlin before the company brought it to Manchester, in which performers act out a classic work of literature or film while drinking, with one half of the cast designated as performers and the other as "designated drivers" ensuring show coherence while an audience member rings a bell to trigger drinking moments. Past editions have staged George Orwell's 1984. Titanic: the Comedy is a full-length comedy show incorporating parody, meta-commentary, and spontaneous song performed with a live musician. The company also runs Improv Jam and Clowning Jam as regular open participatory sessions, and stages narrative improv productions arising from its Narrative Improv course series.

ImproQuo was founded in Manchester in October 2015 by Eji Osigwe, who began performing stand-up at age 17 before moving through theatre, sketch, and improvisation. Osigwe launched the company to fill what he identified as a structural gap in Manchester's comedy landscape: a lack of accessible, structured improv training with pathways to professional performance. The company connected early with New York-based performers and positioned itself as a bridge between grassroots participation and professional comedy infrastructure in the North of England.

Osigwe has performed as a host and compere at major events and appeared on BBC Radio Manchester, giving ImproQuo visibility beyond the improv community. The company's stated goal of becoming a gateway to professional opportunities through coaching, funding, and support signals an ambition to function as an institutional launcher for Manchester-based comedy careers. Its curriculum spanning Improv Basics, Narrative Improv, Short-form Improv, and Clowning and Physical Comedy reflects a broader pedagogical range than most single-city improv companies, positioning ImproQuo as a multi-discipline comedy development organization in the North of England.