Mama City Improv

The festival originated when Ashley Comeau reached out to The Long Shots, a Cape Town improv troupe, initially to teach a single workshop. The two improvisers quickly agreed that a full festival would better serve the growing Cape Town improv community. The inaugural 2016 edition featured workshops and shows with performers from Canada and the United States alongside local Cape Town troupes including The Long Shots, ImproGuise, and others. Subsequent annual editions expanded programming to include an Improvised Kids' Storytelling Festival running in parallel. By the 2020 edition the festival was in its fourth year, with internationally recognised performers among the guests. The festival has been a central catalyst for growing the improv ecosystem across South Africa.

Mama City Improv operates as an immersive festival model rather than a resident performing company, with all-day workshops for beginners and advanced practitioners followed by ticketed evening performances. Its programming philosophy is intentionally international and collaborative, pairing visiting instructors with local groups to accelerate skill development and cross-cultural exchange within the South African improv community.