The Story

Angel Sharp was a production company started up in 2000 by Hannah Madsen. Angel Sharp took a show to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in 2003, where Hannah and Tai Shan Ling first saw other improv troupes. Inspired, they hurried back to Oxford, booked a freshers' fair stall and came up with the name 'The Imps' and the rather fetching logo. Steve Kimmens came and helped out too. Jon Dick, came from America, and came to that very freshers' fair stall in October 2003, and introduced himself to Hannah, Steve and Tai. He convinced them to let him direct the troupe and train them up for a term before going on stage.

After auditions, a hand-picked troupe of Oxford's finest, and a term's hard work driven by the talented Jon, the Imps performed their first public show at the Wheatsheaf Pub, Oxford, on the 19th January 2004. It was an instant success, and the Imps have enjoyed performing weekly to full houses of delighted audiences for ever since.

They have also been doing multiple guest shows at Arts Festivals and College Balls and Comedy Nights all over Oxford. From Easter 2004 they introduced improvised lighting and sound, which has gradually become integral to the show and providing a unique addition to the troupe. The imps have had 9 rounds of auditions since they started and are now a 27 man troupe with a crew of 6 and a cast of 21.

In August 2003 the Imps performed a month long run of daily workshops and shows at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, at C Venues. The tour was a great success, and the Imps have returned to the Fringe every year since. In the summer of 2006 and 2008 they toured to Chicago and Providence in the USA, and in 2006 to Bosnia and Holland. Despite all this fancy touring and travelling, they are still going strong at their home, the Wheatsheaf, every Monday in term-time.