Fiasko
08 June 2026
Etcetera Theatre
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Fiasco, playing again at the Etcetera Theatre on 25 June, is an improvised, interactive show based on the ttrpg of the same name. The hit tabletop game by Bully Pulpit Games is based on the caper gone wrong genre, containing plenty of black comedy and poor impulse control, this is a perfect setting for an improvised show full of mayhem and murder.
The archivist invites the audience to make a few choices for the setting, characters, motivations, and the connections between players, then it is off to the races. We were treated to a Wild West setting filled with crime, ambition, and romance.
From the beginning, there is a sizzling atmosphere in the room, with an eager audience ready for improv shenanigans. The players jump straight into the action with wild abandon, taking to their roles naturally and building a lively world of betrayal and atonement. The story follows a few simple structures to keep it on track, but is fully improvised on the spot with a little input from the audience, keeping choices to a few pre-prescribed scenarios to pick from, which definitely helps keep things on track and mostly cohesive. There is, of course, the mayhem and madness typical of improv theatre, but the guiding structure makes it a delightfully narrative with twists and turns but an overall solid storyline.
The troupe works very well together, with the archivist and visiting lecturer keeping records and narrating scene changes expertly. The show does feel a little curated at times, though this does not hinder the enjoyment of the hilariously chaotic storytelling unfolding in front of the fully tuned in audience.
Fiasco is a gorgeous example of structured improv that aims to bring absolute pandemonium to the stage, providing plenty of laughter and cheering along the way to a gory climax.
