Liverpool Improvisation Festival
The Liverpool Improvisation Festival (LiF) is an annual festival held in Liverpool, United Kingdom, bringing together international and local improvisers to showcase unscripted performance across multiple disciplines including improv comedy, clowning, shadow puppetry, musical theatre, and storytelling. The festival takes place at Unity Theatre and Liverpool Arts Bar Studios, and is organised by Jen Hardy and Mark Smith.
History
The festival was founded in 2022 with its inaugural event in April 2023, emerging as a post-pandemic initiative to revitalize Liverpool's improv scene. It is supported by Unity Theatre, Liverpool John Moores University, and Liverpool Arts Bar Studios, and has grown to feature 18 live shows and seven workshops by its 4th annual edition in 2026.
Significance
The festival continues Liverpool's improvisational theatre traditions and maintains what it describes as the UK's largest archive of improvised performance documentation.
Need current dates or submissions? This is a historical archive. Visit improvfestivals.org for live festival listings.
How to Reference This Page
The Improv Archive. (2026). Liverpool Improvisation Festival. Retrieved September 21, 2026, from https://improvarchive.org/festivals/liverpool-improvisation-festival
The Improv Archive. "Liverpool Improvisation Festival." The Improv Archive, 2026. https://improvarchive.org/festivals/liverpool-improvisation-festival.
The Improv Archive. "Liverpool Improvisation Festival." The Improv Archive, 2026, https://improvarchive.org/festivals/liverpool-improvisation-festival. Accessed September 21, 2026.
The Improv Archive is a systemically maintained repository. The archive itself acts as the corporate author.