Winner, “Tastiest Show”, NZ Fringe 2016
Nominated, “Outstanding Ensemble”, NZ Fringe 2018

Awkward Threesome

What do two seasoned improvisors do to spice up their stage life? Bring in a third player!

Each night, a new guest joins Jennifer O'Sullivan and Matt Powell on stage for an hour of fresh theatrical magic. The catch? Nobody, except our specially-selected improv couples therapist, knows who the guests are until they walk out on stage.

Awkward Threesome

“With a duo this strong in their art, one can confidently predict that this is a show destined to shine no matter who the next guest might be, and what style of improvised theatre they may provide.”

The Plus Ones

Melbourne International Comedy Festival 2018

3–13 April, Loop Project Space & Bar

Guests selected by Jason Geary

“The bar is set high. Will the chemistry be just as good with the next mystery guests? Take the risk – it's bound to pay off.”

TheatreView

NZ Fringe Festival 2018

13–16 March, Scruffy Bunny Improv Theatre, Courtenay Place

Guests selected by Christine Brooks

Nelson Fringe Festival 2016

5 May, 2016, Refinery ArtSpace

Guests selected by Laura Irish

NZ Fringe Festival 2016

11–14 February, BATS Theatre

Guests selected by Christine Brooks

How we work

Tēnā koutou! Thanks for visiting!

Maybe you read about our show via the NZ Fringe Festival programme. Or maybe the Melbourne International Comedy Festival programme. You may also have seen us in The Safety House Guide (an awesome initiative led by Lisa-Skye, you should check it out if you haven’t already). However you found, us we're glad you’re here!

Awkward Threesome is a delightful improvised show where we are joined on stage by a surprise guest every single night. We’ve had wonderful guests so far and we’re so excited to be performing in Wellington and Melbourne, with guests provided by Christine Brooks and Jason Geary respectively. The guests could be anyone: most often they’re improvisors, but who knows what’s in store for us?*

Something that’s very important to us, both as performers and as human people, is that everyone who watches Awkward Threesome can relax and have a good time. We want you to know that you’re at a show where the laughs come from the joy of surprise and interesting combinations of experiences, not at the expense of people who have already been hurt enough out there in the world. So we have a few personal rules that we follow to try to make sure we’re delivering on our promise.

  • We don’t automatically take the first offer from the audience, especially if it’s offensive or upsetting or designed to mess with the show. We take the first offer that inspires us, instead.
  • We don’t perform ‘ironically’ sexist or racist or other -ist scenes. That’s just replicating shitty behaviour on stage for boring jokes that aren’t that funny.
  • We listen to the audience’s responses and pay attention to anything that happens by accident, and change course/end scenes immediately.
  • We prep our guests (through our liaison) about our performance philosophy, and will call them (and each other) out in the moment if we need to.

We’re white, cis, bi babes who can afford to travel and do shows like this in cool cities. We don’t always get it right. But we always want to know if we’ve fucked up, and take whatever steps are necessary to bring back the joy. Whether that’s fixing a scene in the moment, having a conversation with an audience member, doing our own research, whatever. If you’re at our show, know that we want to take care of you and we’re listening.

Love,

Jen & Matt xxx

*If you do know what’s in store, please don’t tell us.