Lifegame resembles a chat show more than a conventional drama. Devised by Keith Johnstone, and performed by the theatre company Improbable, it’s not a new concept, having previously been seen at the National Theatre and at the Lyric as long ago as 1998, but its methods still seem fresh.

Each night of the show’s short run, someone is summoned on stage and interviewed by a member of the company. The subjects may be well-known (in the past they’ve included Joanna Lumley and Richard Eyre) or comparatively obscure. Either way, the interview probes defining experiences in their lives, and Improbable’s creatives act out some of the episodes that are disclosed.

The improvisation is neatly accomplished. Grand gestures and cheap gags are eschewed in favour of a carefully exploratory approach. The tone is warm and humane. Instead of being compelled to speak charismatically, the subject — on the night I saw the show, Canadian actor Kerry Shale — is invited to be candidly self-examining. We’re expected to exult in the pregnant ordinariness of the results.

Improbable’s techniques can elicit wildly variable responses. They may be thrillingly raw or just plain dull. A few delightful moments notwithstanding, I wasn’t especially engaged by the performance I witnessed. It seemed too slow — its transitions sluggish — and the psychological insights were underwhelming. It felt as though a more condensed format would have worked better.

Yet it’s impossible not to absorb the charm of the idea behind Lifegame and to be fascinated by its possibilities. Each instalment is a feat of alchemy and therefore unpredictable. Lifegame is thus a highly suggestive embodiment of every theatregoer’s familiar but pungent sense that, once the lights go down, things could go wrong at any moment and may never go quite right. 

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