Alan Davis and his wife, Shirley say the giggles they get every Monday night last until Friday and then they start looking forward to Monday again.
They have season’s passes to Dirty Laundry, a weekly improvised soap opera that is put on at the Lunchbox Theatre every Monday night at 8 p.m. Season 9 debuts today.
The Davis’ have been hooked ever since they heard about Dirty Laundry on CBC and went to see a performance during Season 2. They have missed only two performances since, one because Shirley was having knee replacement surgery and the other because she was sick.
“We also have season’s tickets to Stage West and Vertigo Theatre,” Alan said. “But if we had to choose just one, we would choose Dirty Laundry.”
Though some followers of the show are skeptical, actors and producers insist the show is always 100 per cent improvised.
“We’re making up an entire play every week,” said Karen Johnson-Diamond, actor and producer. “I think it’s easy to follow along, even if you’ve never been before. Just like any soap opera on TV — if you haven’t seen the Young and the Restless for six years, you can turn it on and it takes you about three scenes to catch up and go, ‘oh, okay, Megan’s with Victor again.’”
Dirty Laundry was originally inspired by Edmonton’s Die Nasty, another improvised soap opera. It has been compared to shows like Corner Gas and Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In.
