The Free Association

The Free Association, or The FA, is an improvised comedy theatre and school, based in London. It is currently the largest provider of improvisation training in the UK.

The Free Association was founded in 2014 by Austentatious cast member Graham Dickson and sketch comedy duo Max and Ivan. Dickson currently serves as Artistic Director.

Philosophy
As the UK's equivalent to American improv theatres UCB, IO and The Second City, the FA primarily performs long-form improvisation. The FA's main focus is the "game of the scene", the Harold, and narrative improvisation.

FA house teams
The following are teams that play regularly at The Free Association, either in headline weekend shows or on the fortnightly Harold Night show. Shows mainly comprise graduates and current students of The Free Association's training programme.

Other shows
The theatre also hosts ensemble shows performed by players from the House Teams. These include Jacuzii, The Ladies of FA County and Uncle Glen's Menagerie. Guest residencies from other London-based acts such as Do Not Adjust Your Stage, The Petting Zoo and Sorry take place monthly. Jacuzii has played at The Pleasance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe from 2015 to 2018.

The Free Association performed a live version of Drunk History (UK TV series) at Comedy Central LIVE, a three-day stand-up festival at Southampton’s Hoglands Park on 5, 6 and 7 October 2018, with special guests including, Joel Dommett (Skins, Live in Chelsea, Impractical Jokers UK, I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!), Nish Kumar (The Mash Report, Newsjack) and Iain Stirling (CBBC, narrator ITV2 reality series Love Island).

Guest monologists
The Free Association's headline Saturday Night show Jacuzii, and other 'special guest' nights welcome a guest monologist (frequently a celebrity) who uses a suggestion from the audience to inspire a truthful, personal monologue. The improvisers then use the monologue as inspiration for a series of scenes, which in turn inspire a response from the monologist.

The Free Association has performed with the following guest monologists and performers: Ralf Little, Nish Kumar, Oliver Chris, Tom Rosenthal, Phil Wang, Rachel Parris, Cariad Lloyd, Mae Martin, Steen Raskopoulos, Brett Goldstein, Rose Matafeo, Sindhu Vee, Matt Jones, Kirby Howell-Baptiste, Neil Casey and Jason Mantzoukas.

Training programme
The FA training programme takes place over 6 levels and focuses on learning "The Harold", a form created by Del Close. The training is attended by performers, comedians, and individuals looking for extra confidence and a community.

The Free Association provides improvisation training for businesses, focusing on communication and collaboration through "FA at Work".

Additional work
The Free Association's Michael Orton-Toliver and Chris Gau created the part-improvised "retro-scripted" comedy mockumentary Borderline for Channel 5 in 2016. The show features a number of Free Association-trained performers and was directed by Breaking Bad's Matt Jones.

Performers Ian Thomas Day, Chris Gau and Shaun Lowthian created the improvised character comedy podcast Fact Up in 2015. Now running to over 150 episodes, the podcast featured on BBC Radio 4 Extra's Podcast Radio Hour in 2018, chosen by comedian Cariad Lloyd.

Performer Freya Slipper created and wrote Audible musical Crush Hour in 2022, with additional material by fellow performer Doug Crossley.

Awards and recognition
Kayleigh Llewellyn created In My Skin, winning Best Television Drama at the 2019 BAFTA Cymru Awards, and Best Television Drama and Best Writer at the 2022 British Academy Television Awards. She was also named as one of BAFTA's Breakthrough Brits in 2019.

Performer Jim Archer directed feature film Brian and Charles in 2022, receiving a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film.

Performer Ambika Mod appeared in a leading role in HBO and BBC TV series This Is Going To Hurt in 2022, and Netflix series One Day in 2023.

Performer Liz Kingsman was nominated for Best Entertainment or Comedy Play at the 2023 Laurence Olivier Awards for her show One Woman Show at Soho Theatre. The show was also nominated for the Edinburgh Comedy Award in 2022.

Performer Haley McGee was nominated for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre at the 2023 Laurence Olivier Awards for Age Is A Feeling at Soho Theatre. Performer and writer Waleed Akhtar won in the same category for The P Word at Bush Theatre.

Performer Shaun Lowthian was nominated for Best Online Comedy at the Writers' Guild of Great Britain Awards in 2019, for short-film Spokke.

In 2021, The Guardian featured The Free Association's improv classes in a range of articles on activities to get out of your comfort zone.