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Shoot From The Hip (improv comedy group)
From Wikipedia - Reading time: 8 min
| Shoot From The Hip | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Medium | Live theatre & Internet | ||||||
| Nationality | British | ||||||
| Years active | 2011-present | ||||||
| Genres | improv | ||||||
| Members |
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| Website | www | ||||||
YouTube information | |||||||
| Channels | |||||||
| Years active | 2018-present | ||||||
| Subscribers | 570,000 | ||||||
| Views | 231,448,120 | ||||||
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Last updated: 29 April 2025 | |||||||
Shoot From The Hip (abbreviated to SFTH) is a British improv group, based in London, United Kingdom. They mostly perform in London, but sometimes branch out to other cities in the UK and also Europe.
The group was formed in 2011, after the members met at their university, Royal Holloway. Previously, they mostly performed in person with little uploading to social media. In 2020, facing the challenges from COVID, they decided to do improv livestreams from home, doing challenges and requests from the audience, which prompted Shoot From The Hip to post their performances more on social media.
As of April 2025[update], Shoot From The Hip has accumulated more than 555,000 subscribers on YouTube, 500,000 followers on Instagram, and 1.8 million followers on TikTok.
History
[edit]2011
[edit]The group needed funds to attend the Edinburgh Fringe to perform a play written by Tom Mayo. Shoot From The Hip was born as a funding project.[1]
Initially, their shows were free entry, with a bucket with tips at the end of the show. Gradually, they started to perform weekly at Top Secret Comedy Club. At some point, they even performed four shows per week.
2018
[edit]- Uploaded their first improvised play titled Oh My God Is This a Joke?
2020
[edit]- COVID-19 struck and live theatre was made impossible. The group kept their shows going by performing from home, playing improv games and doing challenges and requests by their audience.
2022
[edit]- Started to post regularly on social media, and started going viral on TikTok and growing an international audience.
2023
[edit]- Launched SFTH Patreon.
- Reached 1 millions followers on TikTok.
- Released their first comedy special titled HUGE.
2024
[edit]- Released their second and third comedy specials titled West End Big Boys and Jingle Boys.
- Reached 500 thousand subscribers on YouTube.
- Launched their sister channel Roll From The Hip, specialised in D&D contents.
2025
[edit]- Uploaded their 50th improvised plays titled The Off-Season.
Meaning of the name “Shoot From The Hip”
[edit]“Shoot From The Hip” is originally an English idiom, which means doing things in a direct, impulsive manner. The idiom originates from the image of Western films’ gunslingers, who often draw their gun and fire quickly from the hip without lifting it to their face for better aiming. This name reflects the nature of the group’s performances, energetic and quick-witted.
Liveshows
[edit]Currently, Shoot From The Hip usually performs most weekends in London. A Shoot From The Hip liveshow usually runs for around one hour and a half to two hours, splited into two parts with a brief intermission.
In the first half, they play continuous improv short games, around 3 to 5 minutes each. After a 15-minute interval, they perform an epic improvised play, lasting around 20-35 minutes, inspired by a title suggested by the audience. Sometimes, the shows conclude with a Guessing Game if time allows.
YouTube Channels
[edit]Shoot From The Hip
[edit]Shoot From The Hip is their main YouTube channel[2] where they upload improvisational contents, including short games, improvised plays, and full specials.
Shoot From The Hip can also be found on other social media platforms under the username @shootimpro.
Roll From The Hip
[edit]Roll From The Hip is their sister channel for D&D contents[3]. The first campaign, The Plagueround has finished filming and is expected to be launched in the summer of 2025.
Contents categories
[edit]Public Platforms
[edit]Short-form contents
[edit]Shoot From The Hip’s short-form contents include improv games and scenes, performed in the first half of their shows. Some of the games they usually play include Change, Letters, Genre, Time Warp, Book Game, Freeze Tag etc., all based on audience’s suggestions.
Long-form contents
[edit]Shoot From The Hip improvises plays with complete storylines. As of April 2025[update], they have uploaded 51 plays to their YouTube channel[4].
| No. | Title | Time Period | Locations | Guest Actor | Venue | Show Date | Upload Date | Running Time | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Oh My God Is This a Joke? | 1942 |  Berlin, Germany; Von Ponte*, France; Bordeaux, France |
Katharine Bennet-Fox | Theatre Royal Stratford East | 25 May 2018 | 20 June 2018 | 21:02 | YouTube |
| 2 | The Meringue Haberdashery |  Spain (?) |
Angel Comedy | 07 Aug 2022 | 12 August 2022 | 19:46 | YouTube | ||
| 3 | Lost in Your Eyes |  London, United Kingdom; The Canary Islands |
Angel Comedy | N/A | 24 August 2022 | 23:05 | YouTube | ||
| 4 | The Dark Moons of Slough | Slough, United Kingdom |
Angel Comedy | 21 Aug 2022 | 30 August 2022 | 22:28 | YouTube | ||
| 5 | Long Johns - STRIKE! | After 1993 | Dagenham, London, United Kingdom |
Angel Comedy | N/A | 05 September 2022 | 18:58 | YouTube | |
| 6 | Too Big to be a Jockey | United Kingdom |
Angel Comedy | N/A | 19 September 2022 | 19:57 | YouTube | ||
| 7 | Oopsie Daisy Bulge | Village de la Bulge*, France; United Kingdom |
Angel Comedy | N/A | 19 October 2022 | 15:23 | YouTube | ||
| 8 | The Hare Who Wore a Sweater |  United States |
2Northdown | 15 Aug 2022 (?) | 04 December 2022 | 25:09 | YouTube | ||
| 9 | Once Upon a Time I Killed Mum | United Kingdom |
Angel Comedy | N/A | 11 December 2022 | 18:06 | YouTube | ||
| 10 | The Midnight Mystery |  Gotham/Glasgow*, Scotland |
The Albany Theatre | 17 Oct 2022 | 25 December 2022 | 20:15 | YouTube | ||
| 11 | Inside the Mysterious Cube | United States |
Rosie Holt | The Pleasance | 11 Nov 2022 (?) | 13 January 2023 | 25:59 | YouTube | |
| 12 | BUS! | United Kingdom |
2Northdown | 29 Nov 2022 (?) | 16 February 2023 | 22:50 | YouTube | ||
| 13 | All Eyes on Nigel | Manchester, United Kingdom |
Museum of Comedy | 29 Dec 2022 (?) | 12 March 2023 | 20:50 | YouTube | ||
| 14 | No! I’ve Always Loved That Caravan | Northern England, United Kingdom; London, United Kingdom |
Hoopla | 06 Jan 2023 (?) | 02 April 2023 | 26:14 | YouTube | ||
| 15 | Wild, Wet, and Worrisome |  Australia |
Angel Comedy | N/A | 16 April 2024 | 19:58 | YouTube | ||
| 16 | The Cardboard Stegosaurus | United Kingdom |
2Northdown | 04 Feb 2023 (?) | 01 May 2023 | 20:53 | YouTube | ||
| 17 | The Ingredients |  Italy |
Angel Comedy | N/A | 25 June 2023 | 17:20 | YouTube | ||
| 18 | The Excited Chinchilla | Lambeth, London, United Kingdom |
The Albany Theatre | 19 Feb 2023 | 10 July 2023 | 21:45 | YouTube | ||
| 19 | The Prime Minister’s First Day | London, United Kingdom |
Angel Comedy | 28 May 2023 | 13 August 2023 | 21:26 | YouTube | ||
| 20 | The Leftenmost Window | 1914 – 1915 | United Kingdom; The Somme, France |
Edinburgh Fringe 2023 | 01 Aug 2023 (?) | 10 September 2023 | 23:45 | YouTube | |
| 21 | The Neighbour’s under the Bed | United Kingdom |
21Soho | 01 May 2023 (?) | 19 October 2023 | 25:38 | YouTube | ||
| 22 | The Milkman | Northern England, United Kingdom; London, United Kingdom |
2Northdown | 05 Sep 2023 (?) | 10 December 2023 | 34:54 | YouTube | ||
| 23 | Beetroots and Murder | 1950 & 1975 | Somerset, United Kingdom |
Theatre Royal Stratford East | 04 Mar 2023 | 26 December 2023 | 20:52 | YouTube | |
| 24 | Susan’s Holiday | London, United Kingdom; Marbella, Spain |
Amy Cooke-Hodgson | Museum of Comedy | N/A | 07 January 2024 | 22:01 | YouTube | |
| 25 | The Evil Make-A-Wish Kid | New York, United States |
21Soho | 06 Jan 2024 | 04 February 2024 | 19:31 | YouTube | ||
| 26 | Priscilla’s Final Petal | Saxony, Germany |
2Northdown | 05 Jan 2024 | 25 February 2024 | 27:07 | YouTube | ||
| 27 | The Mystery of the Midnight Circus | (probably) Late Victorian Era | London, United Kindom |
Angel Comedy | 03 Mar 2024 | 17 March 2024 | 25:09 | YouTube | |
| 28 | Caesar and Juliet | Rome, Italy; Verona, Italy |
21Soho | N/A | 07 April 2024 | 24:17 | YouTube | ||
| 29 | Wine under the Bridge | 1997 | United Kingdom |
The Pleasance | 27 Jan 2024 | 28 April 2024 | 29:59 | YouTube | |
| 30 | The Unrelenting Aubergine | United Kingdom |
21Soho | 24 Feb 2024 | 19 May 2024 | 34:59 | YouTube | ||
| 31 | The Lighthouse | Orkneys, Scotland |
Comedy Clubhouse | 27 Apr 2024 | 09 June 2024 | 28:47 | YouTube | ||
| 32 | Murders in Space | After 2037 | Outer Orbit; United States |
Leicester Square Theatre | 03 Oct 2023 | 01 July 2024 | 22:26 | YouTube | |
| 33 | Marigolds, Bluebells, and Hugh | 1870s | Oterinberg*, Germany |
Amy Cooke-Hodgson | 21Soho | 02 Jun 2024 | 14 July 2024 | 28:23 | YouTube |
| 34 | Moist and Magical | 1719 | Aberdeen, Scotland |
Museum of Comedy | 24 Mar 2024 | 04 August 2024 | 24:45 | YouTube | |
| 35 | Burglary and Bobsledding |  Sweden |
Angel Comedy | 03 Jun 2024 | 11 August 2024 | 31:09 | YouTube | ||
| 36 | Toby’s Secret Pocket | Arkansas, United States; New York City, United States |
21Soho | 18 May 2024 | 25 August 2024 | 34:49 | YouTube | ||
| 37 | Ballet on the Battlefield | 1916 |  Moscow, Russia; Berlin, Germany; Stuttgart, Germany |
Angel Comedy | 19 Aug 2024 | 15 September 2024 | 33:24 | YouTube | |
| 38 | The Phantom of Hornchurch | (probably) Modern day | Hornchurch, United Kingdom |
The Queen’s Theatre | 23 Aug 2024 | 06 October 2024 | 27:53 | YouTube | |
| 39 | The Grape Depression | 1925 | Sicily, Italy |
Edinburgh Fringe 2024 | 05 Aug 2024 | 27 October 2024 | 29:54 | YouTube | |
| 40 | Strange Noises from the Hole in the Wall | 2024 | United Kingdom |
Frog and Bucket | 15 Sep 2024 | 17 November 2024 | 37:35 | YouTube | |
| 41 | Divorces and Teddy Bears | 2024 | The North Pole; Barbados |
Underbelly Boulevard | 17 Nov 2024 | 08 December 2024 | 29:30 | YouTube | |
| 42 | The Detective vs the Christmas Tree Bandits | Around WWII | New York City, United States |
Theatre Royal Stratford East | 19 Dec 2023 | 22 December 2024 | 26:20 | YouTube | |
| 43 | Death for a Dollar | 1854 – ??? | Tennessee, United States; Mexico |
21Soho | 20 Oct 2024 | 05 January 2025 | 29:07 | YouTube | |
| 44 | Clarissa’s DIY Wedding | (probably) Modern day | New Jersey, United States |
Leicester Square Theatre | 13 Sep 2024 | 19 January 2025 | 36:22 | YouTube | |
| 45 | Green Leaves on a Summer’s Day | N/A | United States |
Edinburgh Fringe 2024 | 02 Aug 2024 | 02 February 2025 | 23:45 | YouTube | |
| 46 | The Pilot’s Final Flight | September 1949 & September 1964 | United Kingdom |
Edinburgh Fringe 2024 | 03 Aug 2024 | 16 February 2025 | 24:52 | YouTube | |
| 47 | The Final Baker of Baker Street | (probably) Late Victorian Era | London, United Kingdom |
Angel Comedy | 19 Jan 2025 | 02 March 2025 | 35:19 | YouTube | |
| 48 | The Hobnob Affair | (probably) Modern day | Scotland (?) |
Edinburgh Fringe 2024 | 09 Aug 2024 | 16 March 2025 | 30:06 | YouTube | |
| 49 | And So It Begun | (probably) Modern day | United Kingdom; Isle of Wight, United Kingdom; St Albans, United Kingdom |
Edinburgh Fringe 2024 | 06 Aug 2024 | 30 March 2025 | 30:05 | YouTube | |
| 50 | The Off-Season | 1895 | United Kingdom; London, United Kingdom; Paris, France |
Clapham Grand | 21 Apr 2024 | 13 April 2025 | 49:02 | YouTube | |
| 51 | Sorry about My Nan | N/A | Munich, Germany; Bristol, United Kingdom |
Leicester Square Theatre | 23 Feb 2025 | 27 April 2025 | 35:54 | YouTube |
Full comedy specials
[edit]Shoot From The Hip’s first comedy special was named Huge, filmed at Theatre Royal Stratford East in March, 2023 and uploaded to their channel in November, 2023. The show is 1 hour 45 minutes long, and it has acumulated 735,000 views As of April 2025[update][5].
As of April 2025[update], they have uploaded 3 full specials and one mini special.
| No. | Title | Venue | Show Date | Upload Date | Running Time | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | HUGE | Theatre Royal Stratford East | 04 Mar 2023 | 25 Nov 2023 | 01:45:52 | YouTube |
| 2 | West End Big Boys | Leicester Square Theatre | 03 Oct 2023 | 30 Jun 2024 | 01:38:36 | YouTube |
| 3 | Jingle Boys | Theatre Royal Stratford East | 19 Dec 2023 | 22 Dec 2024 | 01:30:56 | YouTube |
| 4 | Underbelly Mini Special | Underbelly Boulevard | 17 Nov 2024 | 26 Mar 2025 | 00:25:11 | YouTube |
Patreon
[edit]Addition to their public social media, Shoot From The Hip offers Patreon contents, for the price of £4 to £9 a month, depending on the tier. Both tiers have the same benefits, the higher tier is for fans to support them more if they can.
Their Patreon contents include two D&D campaigns, exclusive improvised plays, livestreams from stage, livestreams from home, exclusive podcasts, Q&A, behind the scenes videos, and more.
Other Ventures
[edit]Wing It
[edit]Wing It is a BBC Radio comedy panel show, produced by Sam Russell under the name Sam Holmes, starring the other three Shoot From The Hip members [6].
The pilot episode was released on 28 January 2024, hosted by Mike Wozniak[7]. Four more episodes were recorded in 2024 and released in December, hosted by Alasdair Beckett-King[8].
Wing It was named Best Radio Panel Show in the Comedy.co.uk Awards 2024,[9] earning Sam his first award as a comedy producer.
Future
[edit]Future[10] is a sci-fi graphic novel, written by Tom Mayo, illustrated by Rupert Smissen. The book is about a female astronaut launching to space for her last mission, trying to find the cure for Earth and also her dying wife.
lofi_film25
[edit]lofi_film25[11] is AJ’s film studio/channel. His films are low-budget indie films, mostly in the psychological horror genre, budgeted through crowdfunding.
Awards
[edit]- Comedy.co.uk Awards 2024 - Best Radio Panel Show (for Wing It)
- Derek Awards 2024 - Outstanding contribution to the Fringe
- What’s On London - Best Improv Comedy Act 2017
References
[edit]- ^ 88 Sam Russell and Alexander Jeremy Improv London podcast. 29 Sep 2018 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Shoot From The Hip". Retrieved 2025-04-28 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Roll From The Hip". Retrieved 2025-04-28 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Shoot From The Hip's Improvised Play". Retrieved 2025-04-29 – via YouTube.
- ^ Shoot From The Hip - HUGE | FULL COMEDY SPECIAL. 24 Nov 2023 – via YouTube.
- ^ "Wing It - Radio 4 Panel Show - British Comedy Guide". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
- ^ "BBC Radio 4 - Wing It, Wing It - Pilot". BBC. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
- ^ "BBC Sounds - Wing It - Available Episodes". BBC. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
- ^ "Gavin & Stacey leads Comedy.co.uk Awards winners". comedy.co.uk. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
- ^ "FUTURE - Cast Iron Book". castironbooks.com. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
- ^ "lofi_film25". Retrieved 2025-04-28 – via YouTube.
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