The Maydays

Founding (2004)

John Cremer founded The Maydays in 2004 in Brighton. Rebecca MacMillan, an early co-founder and collaborator, taught the company's first beginners course and devised the first improv comedy course in Brighton. The company debuted at Brighton Fringe in 2004 and took its first show to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2006, winning Best Comedy Show at Brighton Fringe in 2007 with Mayday! The Musical.

Komedia Residency and Chicago Training (2008)

From 2008, The Maydays began a monthly residency at Komedia Brighton with the show Confessions. That same period saw several company members travel to Chicago to train at iO Theater and the Annoyance Theatre. The company subsequently brought US teachers to the UK, positioning The Maydays at the forefront of long-form improv in England.

Annual Retreat and Ongoing Work

The Maydays run an annual improv residential retreat, which reached its 16th edition in 2024. The company teaches courses in Brighton and London alongside corporate training. Musical Director Joe Samuel is described as one of a small number of professional improv musicians in the world.

Notable Connections

Heather Urquhart of The Maydays is also a performer in Showstopper! The Improvised Musical, the Olivier Award-winning long-form musical improv company. Jules Munns, also associated with The Maydays, co-founded The Nursery Theatre in London.

The Maydays is England's leading long-form improv company, founded in Brighton in 2004, whose training pipelines, annual retreat, and connections to Showstopper! and The Nursery Theatre have shaped the UK's long-form tradition.

The Maydays' flagship production is Happily Never After, a fully improvised musical theatre experience drawing on gothic themes, twisted fairy tales, and dark comedy, performed at Brighton Fringe and other venues. Confessions! is a recurring monthly show in Brighton presenting fast-paced improvised comedy drawn from audience stories and confessions, scheduled throughout the year at Komedia Brighton and similar venues. The company also maintains an annual residential improv retreat, which reached its 15th edition in October 2023, serving as both a training event and a signature gathering of the UK improv community.

John Cremer founded The Maydays in Brighton in 2004, and the company made its public debut at Brighton Fringe that year. By 2006 the ensemble had performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and in 2007 it won Best Comedy Show at Brighton Fringe, establishing its reputation as England's leading long-form improvisation company within its first three years. From 2008 onward the company built a residency at Komedia Brighton, the city's major comedy venue, and members traveled to Chicago to train at iO Chicago and the Annoyance Theatre, directly importing American long-form methodology into the British improv scene. The Maydays' dual base in Brighton and London allowed it to anchor the south-coast improv community while maintaining a national profile.

Heather Urquhart performs with Showstopper! The Improvised Musical, the Olivier Award-winning West End production, demonstrating the level at which Maydays members operate in the professional improv landscape. Jules Munns co-founded The Nursery Theatre in London and served as its Artistic Director for over a decade. Joe Samuel serves as Musical Director and is recognized as one of only a handful of professional improviser musicians in the United Kingdom. Rebecca MacMillan taught the company's founding beginners course and has continued as a teaching anchor. The Maydays' business training division, offering CPD-accredited open and closed corporate courses, extended the company's reach into professional development contexts across sectors.