It's been another festival for the books!
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Five days. Ten shows. Six workshops. One stage.
Thank you to our audiences, performers, staff, donors, and sponsors who made our 3rd annual THE HEAT just so special!
Our 2026 teams were:
🇺🇸 @dumbjohn
🇬🇧 @untoldstories_tf
🇬🇧 @michelleimpro
🇳🇿 @secondbreakfastimprov
🇨🇦 @theimprovcentre
This festival has been amazing. Artists coming from all over the planet with nothing but their wits, their skill, and their talent – and then using that to come together and craft the funniest improv imaginable!
Thanks to everyone who showed up, cheered, and laughed with us. You've all made this the best Heat yet!
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Jet lag and an early morning television spot? No match for Second Breakfast! Thanks @yourmorning for having us on with (@artisticdirectoralan ) to talk all things The Heat festival, kicking off TODAY! We couldn’t be more excited to share our little slice of Kiwi comedy with Canada all week at (@theimprovcentre ). Swipe to watch our wonderful @bridiekconnell
Second Breakfast has arrived in Vancouver town and we couldn’t be more thrilled!! Catch us at The Heat International Improv showcase from 27-31 January (with a night off on Wednesday) at @theimprovcentre . Our showcase is on the 30th (which may or may not be @jonnypaul3 ‘s birthday 😉)
🎺🔥 IT’S HERE! IT’S HERE! 🔥🎺
The full schedule for The Heat: International Improv Comedy Festival is officially here! For 5 nights and 10 shows, we’re featuring global improv team ups featuring international improvisers – as well as mixing in a few of our own! These one-of-a-kind shows are taking over The Improv Centre from January 27th–31st.
Every night brings a fresh lineup, where teams perform together for the very first time. No rehearsals. No scripts. Just huge improv laughs, no matter where you’re from.
And did you catch this? Many of the shows at The Heat are sliding scale! See these worldwide sensations for whatever price you want to pay: $15, $20, or $25 per ticket.
So check out the schedule, plan what shows you’ll see, and get your tickets now so you don’t miss a second of this once-in-a-lifetime hilarity!
Check our link in bio for tickets!
#theheat #improvcomedy #vancouverevents
Returning to the stage for their SECOND second first meal of the day… IT’S SECOND BREAKFAST! 🇳🇿
Hailing from Aotearoa New Zealand, this team is all about creating small towns with big characters. An audience favourite from last year’s festival, we’re psyched to be welcoming them back!
Like the majestic Kererū, they’re soaring to Vancouver for THE HEAT: International Improv Comedy Festival, on January 27 - 31! Tap the link in our bio for showtimes and tickets!
#theheat #improvcomedy #vancouverevents @secondbreakfastimprov@bridiekconnell@jonnypaul3@ryoffknighton
Did someone say sequel?! 🔥🔥🔥
We are beyond excited to be heading back for THE HEAT 2026 in Vancouver Canada at The Improv Centre. 🇳🇿🇨🇦
Nobody would have seen this coming in the Palantír 🔮
Can you feel that? It's getting hot in here! We are SO excited to announce the teams that will be landing in The Great White North for THE HEAT 2026!
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🇬🇧 Teresa & Folusho | London, UK (@untoldstories_tf )
🇳🇿 Second Breakfast | Aotearoa New Zealand (@secondbreakfastimprov )
🇬🇧 Michelle Impro | London, UK (@michelleimpro )
🇺🇸 Dumb John | Chicago, USA (@dumbjohn )
🇨🇦 The Improv Centre | Vancouver, Canada (@theimprovcentre )
Learn more about the teams and check upcoming festival dates via link in bio or theimprovcentre.ca/theheat!
The Heat 2025- Day Six
And just like that it was day five, Saturday, the final day. We slipped back into our morning routine and the spa pool to prepare for a final day of improv. We tested our tellanovella chops with a workshop and prepped for our showcase. But first there was a little scheming to do as (with help from our improv centre colleagues @jroo16@Johnvoth@alexgullason@silentbearparty ) we added to the storied history of Bridie’s game of Pinch-and-a-punch-for-the-first-of-the-month (see the early February episode from This American Life for all the details). With the prank formalities out of the way it was time to perform for a packed out @theImprovcentre . Highlights of the game section included a quick swipe on dating app Tinder, the drama of papercuts and probably most memorably getting roasted for a whole scene as our Canadian friends (we’d evolved from colleagues) attempted their best New Zealand accents.
For our showcase we attempted to spin a yarn about YOUR small town. We began with a chat to the audience about what things small towns have (post offices, high schools, liquor stores and ostrich farms) then regaled the Canadian audience with a tale of unrealised potential and unrequited love from the town of Pale Rock. Sometimes people take a while to come together, like the doors on a broken automatic door, and so it proved with Gwendolyn and Colin coming together through adversity to get married.
We finished our showcase with a waiata, Te Aroha, to acknowledge the incredible audiences we’d had in Vancouver and the festival as a whole.
Thank you so much to our amazing audience for their generosity and to the other teams for their support. It was a truly special night, one the SBers will hold in their hearts for a long time.
Show photo credit goes to the amazing @cstuyt
The Heat 2025- Day Five
Day five, and the festival felt like sand slipping through our grasp. A few short days ago it looked all ahead of us and now it felt distinctly finite. No time to dwell however, we had a workshop to teach. We’re so incredibly grateful to everyone who came along to learn a little bit about how we approach characters in improv.
That night we had the incredible privilege of supporting the phenomenal @SpitManila in their showcase in front of 200 passionate fans. It was a joy to join them in the viral sensation Eh Ikow then watch them craft an emotional masterpiece in the second half. This was a delightful show, with Second Breakfast conjuring first a dark and gritty film noir (about pineapple on pizza), then a heartfelt engagement story about the perils of saying “meet at mine”.
@theImprovcentre
Show photo credit goes to the amazing @cstuyt
The Heat 2025- Day Four
Day four our day off, and a Happy Birthday to the one and only @JonnyPaul3 . We took advantage of our lack of show by relaxing and rehearsing. After a very interesting workshop from @improshow on using improv and Shakespeare to devise local stories, it was time to hit the Granville Island Market. Meat (thanks for the recommendation @mark.w.savoie ), cheese, bread, wine, ironing board, the essential ingredients for a banging charcuterie board. With a side of clowning from Ryan.
@theImprovcentre
The Heat 2025- Day Three
With our feet well and truly under us we decided we’d deserved a bit more of an explore so ventured off our precious Granville Island to the dizzying metropolis of Gastown. We did bulk souvenir shopping and picture taking as we wandered along the waterfront to Canada Place “This whole place is Canada”- Bridie Connell. We warmed up our game muscles with a wonderful workshop from @jalensaip then hit the stage. The evening’s show was a free for all with the immensely talented @ruutu10eesti and @jackigunn . This show had it all, a dragon high school, a literary serial killer, and some incredible underwater action.
No photos from this show sadly, you just had to be there 😛
@theImprovcentre
