London Improv Theatre

Founding (2016)

Jake Lyons founded London Improv Theatre in 2016 at 104 Finchley Road, West Hampstead, NW3 5JJ. Lyons had noted a lack of venues for improv in the audience-friendly, game-based style associated with the television show Whose Line Is It Anyway? and set up the venue to fill that gap.

Programming

The venue hosts 3-4 shows per week including a monthly Props and Costume Show. Lyons runs Saturday beginners drop-in sessions (capped at 12 participants) and Wednesday scene-work classes.

Whose Line Connections

In 2017 the venue hosted Slattery Night Fever, welcoming back Tony Slattery, an original cast member of the UK version of Whose Line Is It Anyway?, following his 2017 Edinburgh Fringe return.

London Improv Theatre is a dedicated short-form improv venue in West Hampstead, founded in 2016 by Jake Lyons to bring audience-accessible Whose Line-style improv to a part of London underserved for live comedy.

London Improv Theatre presents three to four shows per week at its 104 Finchley Road venue in West Hampstead, built around short-form formats in the tradition of Whose Line Is It Anyway?. Its recurring productions include The Improv Variety Show (scenes, games, and songs created from audience suggestions, billed as never repeatable), and regular short-form game nights featuring house performers. The company performs at both its West Hampstead home and at The Comedy Lounge, Upstairs at The Green in Clerkenwell, extending its programming reach across London.

London Improv Theatre was founded in 2016 by Jake Lyons to provide West Hampstead with a permanent dedicated improv venue, a neighborhood that had lacked a comedy home. By anchoring itself to audience-accessible short-form formats derived from Whose Line Is It Anyway? rather than the long-form Harold style more common in London improv schools, the company positioned itself as an entry point for audiences unfamiliar with improvisation, prioritizing accessibility over practitioner development.

The company's consistent three-to-four-show weekly schedule across nearly a decade has made it one of London's most durable small improv venues, operating alongside better-resourced institutions such as The Nursery and Hoopla Impro. Its dual-venue programming model, running shows at both West Hampstead and Clerkenwell, reflects an operational approach that extends the company's reach without requiring a larger fixed space. Documented alumni connections and downstream companies have not been publicly detailed as of 2026.