Welcome to The Free Association. We are a comedy theatre company, school, and corporate trainer, specialising in improvised comedy.
We find creativity in the moment.
On stage, we create hilarious comedy shows in the moment. In the classroom, our students develop the confidence and ability to express themselves in the moment. In business, we build an idea-friendly environment; a culture where workers can encourage, and be encouraged, to innovate in the moment.
For the last 9 years, our mission has always been the same: to provide the best improvised comedy in the UK...
"London’s Best Improv Comedy"” - Evening Standard
...and we know what we’re doing!
“"The FA Knows what they’re doing"” - Chortle
We use our in depth knowledge, experience and our theory of comedy to teach our students and performers to ‘find the funny’, and once they’ve found it - teach them what to do with it.
“"They know how to find the funny and what to do with it"“- The Guardian
And the result on stage is an incredible sight to behold! It looks like proper improv!
"“This is what proper improv looks like!"” - Fest
Wherever you’re from, whatever you do for a living, however old you are, we can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t benefit from it. The skills people learn at The FA simply nurture the good elements of being a human being.
"““I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t benefit from it. It’s fun,inventive and silly, but it also really just nurtures all the good elements of being a human being."“ - The Times
But, please, don’t just take our word for it...
Our Values
Adaptable and Approachable
We teach the key skills of improvisation, and how they are applicable to business. We’d be silly not to embody these characteristics ourselves. They are...
Communication, Listening, Flexibility, Innovation, Embracing the Unknown, Accepting Failure, Empathy, Confidence and above all else - great Team Work.
Like any good improviser - We are flexible and innovative in our approach, responsive in our actions, empathetic to our customers and employees, we accept and develop people's ideas, we listen to people, we make bold choices and we aren’t afraid to fail.
Fair and Sustainable
The foundations of our business are born from frustrations within the world of the arts. We want the arts to be a sustainable career choice, and profit not to be dirty word. We are proof that you can be fair, sustainable and self-sufficient.
We always operate fairly. Paying people fair rates and wages to enable them to build a sustainable career as a performer or trainer. If we pay them seriously, they take the job seriously. We provide as many opportunities as possible to performers, to ensure they can hone their craft.
As industry leaders in this field, it’s important for us to make the changes now. We offer diversity scholarships for all of our training programmes.
Quality and Integrity
We take our business very seriously, and the quality of our graduates and shows means everything to us. We don’t pass people through our classes like a cash cow - we have strict pass/fail criteria that must be met. This ensures a quality learning environment, and a higher quality of graduate and performer. The success of our students and performers is a high priority to us.
