easylaughs at the Crea Cafe

Heaven forbid you end up alone. You don't know why. Hold on tight, wait for tomorrow, you'll be alright. - The Fray, Heaven Forbid

Last night I had the good fortune to be invited by a friend to see an English-language comedy improvisation group, easylaughs, at the Crea Cafe Theatre in Amsterdam.

Before we start, let's remember I'm a suburban girl. I live a 15 minute tram ride from central Amsterdam, but it might as well be Berlin.

I'm not renowned for visiting Amsterdam in the daytime, let alone at night.

All that's changing of course, in the interests of beating the inexorable lure of the sofa, the tv, and downloaded portrayals of other people's lives.

Sometimes a mid-thirties crisis can be a good thing.

I lost my train of thought there for a moment, sorry, thirties again. It happens more often than I'd like.

This was my very first time at an improv show and I'm a convert. The easylaughs group is howlingly funny. It's easy to see that they're comfortable with each other, they know where their strengths and weaknesses lie.

The best bits for me were the song improvisation: improvising lyrics and staying in tune is an art. I can't remember all of the skits, but there was one with the words 'pigeon' and 'striptease' as the starting words,  which made me lose most of my mascara.

Go as quickly as you can to see this group. The venue is small which makes it more intimate, the group actually mingle in the intervals, and the price is reasonable.

Oh, and right now Amsterdam is beautiful at night.

It's cold, the lights glisten on the water and the rain smudges through the light from the streetlamps. It can be surprisingly clear or blanketed in fog. Either way, it's an experience.

I can't see any good reasons not to go.