History
The Spontaneity Shop, then known as The Old Spontaneity Shop was formed in 1996 by Tom Salinsky and Deborah Frances-White. Their first shows were at the Troubadour Coffee House in Earl's Court, and they moved to the Canal Cafe in 1999. From 1998-2000 they also ran shows and workshops at Oxford University.
In 1999 they presented a benefit concert at The Hackney Empire, directed by Keith Johnstone and Improbable theatre's Phelim McDermott. Joining the Spontaneity Shop cast were Tony Slattery, Jonathan Pryce, Lee Simpson, Neil Mullarkey and a number of other special guests. The money raised went to the Royal Court Theatre where Keith had once worked as a director.
In 2000 the company created DreamDate, the improvised romantic comedy which was a hit at the Edinburgh Fringe. Hat Trick Productions, producer Dan Patterson and most recently Pozzitive Television have all attempted to get TV versions made but none has yet got past the pilot stage. Recently, the company sold the international rights to FremantleMedia who are currently trying to launch it in the United States.
The company also developed the long form structure Tell Tales which presents a complete improvised play entirely in monologues. They are currently developing a new TV format at their regular Islington venue, The Florence.
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—Aristide Briand (1862–1932)
“To care for the quarrels of the past, to identify oneself passionately with a cause that became, politically speaking, a losing cause with the birth of the modern world, is to experience a kind of straining against reality, a rebellious nonconformity that, again, is rare in America, where children are instructed in the virtues of the system they live under, as though history had achieved a happy ending in American civics.”
—Mary McCarthy (1912–1989)