The Maydays is a Brighton-based improv company founded in 2004 by John Cremer, widely regarded as England's leading long-form improvisation company. The company debuted at Brighton Fringe in 2004, took its first show to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2006, and won Best Comedy Show at Brighton Fringe 2007. From 2008 the company began a residency at Komedia Brighton and sent members to train in Chicago, establishing The Maydays as the UK's vanguard of long-form improv.
History
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.
Artistic Identity
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.
Key Events
The Maydays Founded in Brighton
John Cremer founded The Maydays in Brighton in 2004, with Rebecca MacMillan teaching the company's first beginners course and creating the first improv comedy course offered in Brighton.
The Maydays Begin Komedia Brighton Residency
From 2008, The Maydays began a monthly residency at Komedia Brighton and sent members to train at iO Theater and the Annoyance Theatre in Chicago, establishing the company as England's long-form improv vanguard.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). The Maydays. Retrieved March 17, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/companies/the-maydays
The Improv Archive. "The Maydays." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/companies/the-maydays.
The Improv Archive. "The Maydays." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/companies/the-maydays. Accessed March 17, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.