Improv Bandits

Wade Jackson founded the Improv Bandits in 1997 at the SiLO Theatre in Auckland, deliberately naming the group "Bandits" to signal that they were breaking away from the Theatresports format that dominated New Zealand improv at the time. Jackson had developed an Improv 101 workshop course in 1998 alongside performances.

In 2002 the Bandits won the World Cage Match Championship at the Chicago Improv Festival, held at iO. Three ensemble members received invitations to audition for the television series Whose Line Is It Anyway? In 2001, Jackson and Mark Scott founded Covert Theatre as a dedicated Auckland improv venue, and a Wellington branch of the Improv Bandits was launched by Geoff Simmons and Tony Gilbert that year.

The Improv Bandits have toured internationally to Australia, Belgium, Canada, Samoa, the United States (Chicago, Hawaii, Los Angeles, New York, Texas). The NZ Herald described them as "one of New Zealand's most successful comedy ventures." The Bandits continue to perform as Covert Theatre's resident ensemble.

The Improv Bandits perform long-form narrative improvisation without scripts, building stories from audience suggestions in the tradition they encountered through UCB, iO, and Keith Johnstone. The name reflects their founding commitment to ensemble-driven story over competitive short-form formats.

The Improv Bandits established narrative long-form improv in New Zealand and won the 2002 World Cage Match Championship in Chicago, the highest international recognition New Zealand improv has achieved. Their touring program spread New Zealand improv to international audiences and their training curriculum through Covert Theatre has shaped a generation of Auckland improvisers.