The art of improv

YOUNG British improv artist James Scarr is bringing his popular interactive one-man show, A Man Akin to Mannequin, to Bahrain tonight.

The Manama Theatre Club will stage the act at the British Club in Adliya.

The play is designed to engage the audience, who help the creative bring a mannequin alive by deciding its personality traits and looks, resulting in a unique show each time.

The play features music for which the 22-year-old London actor collaborates with local talents in the countries that he performs in.

For the event tonight, James has joined hands with Bahrain-based pianist Natalia Kashyrtseva.

“I like having a mannequin at the show because it feels like a blank canvas, and we decide together how we want to paint it,” James told GulfWeekly.

“Through the show, I aim to give the audience a chance to be creative, as I believe we all are natural storytellers and artists, and I hope to, maybe, inspire them to discover their skills and perhaps even consider pursuing a creative field,” the trained performer, who got his Bachelor’s degree in acting from London-based Fourth Monkey last year, said.

A Man Akin to Mannequin premiered last year in Liechtenstein and since then has travelled across Europe. James decided to bring it to the Gulf region last month, starting with Dubai, and now Bahrain.

“Having lived in Dubai for a while, I do have a special connection to this region and I am always happy to bring my shows to the audiences here. The next stop is Ras Al Khaimah in the UAE,” James revealed.

The talented actor grew up in Dubai where he worked at a local improv theatre, directing, performing and teaching improvisation for eight years before moving back to London.

James said the idea for the show came together prior to him joining acting school, during a conversation with Canadian improv artist and fellow actor Shawn Kinley.

“He asked me, ‘What’s your one-man show?’ From there I started brainstorming, and I loved the idea of having a mannequin onstage as a visual canvas for a character, and thus the show was born,” he said.

According to the entertainer, a major challenge with improv is ‘being a critic of your own work’.

“My advice to those who want to try it is not to be overly critical of yourself, after all, we improvise in our daily lives, so in a way we are all improvisers,” James said.

“At times, the audience try to throw me off by adding something unexpected - like one time, someone wanted the character to have a pink wig - which I find nice because it’s like they give me a challenge and see if I am up for it,” he added.

For James, embarking on the acting career has been a ‘dream come true’, a field he has been passionate about since the age of 12.

“It’s the best job in the world,” he said.

“I get to go up on stage and be a different person and play and imagine, just like what we used to do as children.

“Going to drama school was a gift and a blessing,” he noted, reflecting on his time at Fourth Monkey.

The actor has more projects lined up ahead and hopes to bring more shows to the Middle East. So watch out for this space!

For more details, follow @james.scarr on Instagram.