LATER this month Birmingham's first ever Improv Festival will open its doors for three days of completely improvised plays, musicals, sketches, puppets, costume dramas and a host of exciting workshops.

Birmingham Improv Festival 2016 will take place at the Blue Orange Theatre in the city centre from October 21 to 23.

The three day event features some of the biggest and best improv artists in the UK including Dudley born actress and improv queen Josie Lawrence, best remembered for the acclaimed series Whose Line Is It Anyway, some of the cast of the West End's Olivier Award winning improvised musical Showstopper! as well as the UK's premier improv comedy troupe Noise Next Door who come straight from the Edinburgh Festival.

Audiences can experience hilarious made-up science fiction, toe tapping improvised cabaret tunes, improvised musical theatre, a puppet show especially for grown ups and much more.

As well as the main stage performances the festival will be running a series of workshops providing the public with the chance to work with world-class professional practitioners and performers.

The workshops will include Improv for Absolute Beginners with Birmingham based Box of Frogs; Improvised Musical Theatre with some of the West End's Showstopper! cast and Narrative Improv and story skills with Spontaneous Sherlock.

Festival director Jon Trevor, from Birmingham based Box of Frogs, said: “We've managed to put a fantastic festival programme together showcasing world-class improv and, if successful, I'd really like to make it a regular annual event for Birmingham which will complement the city's already thriving festival scene.”

The Birmingham Improv Festival 2016 is independently run and organisers have deliberately kept ticket prices low.

Concessionary tickets are priced as little as £5 and the public can even book a ticket for all 10 shows for only £59 (subject to availability).

Full information including how to book a place on the workshops can be found on birminghamimprovfestival.com.