Colin Mochrie and Brad Sherwood ‘Asking For Trouble’ in Edmonton

Colin Mochrie is a Canadian comedy and improv legend. He made his mark on the show Whose Line Is It Anyway? where cast members had to improvise based on a prompt from the host and/or audience. Now Mochrie and his Whose Line Is It Anyway? co-star Brad Sherwood are embarking on a cross-Canada improv tour Asking For Trouble.

Mochrie first got into comedy and improv at theatre school. “It was a fun thing to do on the weekends but I never thought it’d be my career,” he said. “So I really lucked out.”

He’s noticed an increase in sensitivity with the audience over the years. 

“You can say something totally innocuous and people can get upset about it,” Mochrie said. 

As a rule, Mochrie has made a point not to accept political suggestions for prompts.

“When we do that, the audience is immediately split in half,” Mochrie said. “If you’re going to a John Stewart or Louis Black [show], people know what you’re getting. You’re going to get a lot of political satire.”

What he tries to do is just goofy comedy, not social commentary, which isn’t his strong suit. And they’ve stuck to that goofy comedy style in the new show.

“We hope you forget the world for an hour or two, and just have a couple of belly laughs,” he said. “And if anyone gets anything more than that, that’s great.”

Whose Line Is It Anyway? without the dead-weight and a musical element

Mochrie and Sherwood started doing a two-man show as a two-week trial, just to see how it would work. And 24 years later they are still going.

The pair are “constantly trying to find or invent new games that put us on our heels.” Mochrie described the new show as a live version of Whose Line Is It Anyway? without the dead-weight. “You know who I’m talking about,” Mochrie joked.

“Everything starts with a suggestion from the audience members, audience members on stage are even more interactive than the TV show,” he said. “And we just added a new game where we talk to the audience about the city we’re playing in.”

They’ll use historical events, famous people, or rival cities for prompts and then they’ll do a musical based on that.

“And the exciting part about that is only one of us can actually sing,” Mochrie said. “It’s not me.”

He said his improv style has changed over the years. “At the beginning of your improv, everything is a little bigger and you don’t allow for silence, it’s like you’re afraid of silence,” he explained. “I find over the years, I love awkward silences in improv.”

When asked what he hopes this show will do for his longstanding legacy as a Canadian comic, he said “I always hope the next one doesn’t ruin your reputation completely.”

But he promises it’s a family friendly show.

You can catch Mochrie and Sherwood at the Winspear Theatre on November 23.