Multilingual improv theatre : why and how?

In the beginning, there were constraints. Constraints that became engines for creation and experimentation.

In 2019, Laurie Andrieu collaborated with DoucheFlux, a daytime shelter for homeless individuals, to offer improvisation workshops to their beneficiaries. Each month brought a major challenge, as no one knew which languages the participants would speak, nor how well they would understand French or English—it was a leap into the unknown. A clear need emerged: to design workshops that were accessible to all, adaptable, and where language was not a prerequisite. And... it worked! The workshops were filled with joy.

In 2023, Laurie Andrieu and Dan Gelbard responded to a call for projects from the Brussels-Capital Region, “BeTalky” (a program promoting multilingualism through cultural activities), proposing weekly multilingual improvisation workshops. Their project was selected, and that marked the birth of Improvyglot in Brussels.

What followed was a series of exciting milestones: the first participant showcase, Improvyglot on Stage, at the Maison des Cultures in Saint-Gilles in December 2023; the creation of Atlas Impros du Monde – Brussels in January 2024; the debut of the performance Babel Games at Théâtre l’Improvidence in Bordeaux in May 2024 with a local team; the second Improvyglot on Stage at Artincelle (Saint-Gilles) in June 2024. Meanwhile, Babel Games is set to launch monthly shows starting June 2024 in Brussels, with a team of eight professional performers speaking French, English, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Greek, German, Moroccan Arabic, and even a bit of Catalan.

So that’s the timeline. But why and how?

WHY?

Because in Brussels—and in other cities too—linguistic communities are often fragmented. There are very few cultural offerings that bring together people who speak different languages, even though they live in the same spaces. We already believe in the power of theatrical improvisation as a tool for human connection, confidence building, self-expression, and openness. Adding the multilingual dimension allows us to offer a more inclusive discipline, one that goes even further in the principles of listening, co-creation, and a relaxed attitude toward mistakes. Making the effort to communicate, even when we don’t share a common language, is already a step toward caring for others and trying to understand their realities. Through our experiences, improvisation has connected us with people of all ages and backgrounds. And we realized it could also connect people across languages and nationalities. What we tested at DoucheFlux—people from different linguistic backgrounds improvising together—turned out to have universal potential!

HOW?

Art itself is a space for communication beyond words. The visuals, the imagery, the emotions it evokes allow for understanding without needing language. That’s exactly what we do in multilingual improvisation: we create images that carry meaning understandable to all. We tap into the power of emotion as a raw language. To do multilingual improv, we have to break the reflex of always speaking—we must play before we speak, and build a deep connection with our scene partners. Multilingual improv blends traditional artistic tools with elements unique to it: laughter, group support, active listening, and removing the fear of making mistakes. This combination creates a unique space where the fear of getting it wrong in an unfamiliar language fades away. We find ourselves understanding one another in unknown or even invented languages, where the story begins before the words do. It all starts with connection, with silent exercises, with made-up language (the famous gromelot or gibberish), or with music.

Another aspect we wanted to explore is language as a source of inspiration. How can an unfamiliar word inspire us through its sounds? How can an idiomatic expression spark an imaginary world? How can we build bridges between similar languages? And how does language shape our character building? These are the wild challenges of multilingual improvisation!

So yes—multilingual improvisation is possible, and it’s wonderful. And if you’d like to discover it for yourself, we’ll be waiting for you at the next Babel Games or at one of our Improvyglot workshops!