The Improv Centre dives into deception in Betrayers
New show created by Allen Morrison is based on the hit reality-TV series The Traitors
(Left to right) Betrayers cast Julia Church, Chris Casillan, Stephanie Webster, Dan Willows, and Emily Schoen.
The Improv Centre presents Betrayers on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:30 pm from September 27 to November 2, with an opening show on September 26 at 7:30 pm
IF YOU’RE INTO reality shows, you’ve probably heard of The Traitors. The competition series is based on a Dutch program called De Verraders with spinoffs in several countries in which a group of contestants arrives at a castle in the Scottish Highlands with hopes of winning a large cash prize that gets bigger through various challenges. The players are referred to as the “faithful” but among them are the “traitors”—a handful of contestants selected by the host whose goal is to eliminate the faithfuls and claim the prize for themselves. Should the faithful contestants eliminate all the traitors, they get to share the prize fund, but if any traitors make it to the end, they steal the money.
The Traitors has now become the inspiration for a new series at Vancouver’s Improv Centre called Betrayers.
“It’s a game of deception and it’s a game of lying,” says the show’s creator, Allen Morrison, in a phone interview with Stir of the TV program. “You want to be the best liar.”
In The Improv Centre’s version, audience members and performers alike will try to figure out which improvisors are “betrayers”, with cast members having to do so with haste because they could meet their demise at the hands of a betrayer at any time. Viewers also get a say in who they give credence to and vote on who they want gone for good.
“It’s a game of trust and mistrust, it’s a game of betrayal, and it’s a game of truth, and it’s all wrapped up inside a comedy show,” Morrison says. “We’re playing two things at the same time. Normally in improv shows we make stuff up as we go along and get a suggestion from the audience and we’ll play out the scenes, but with this particular show we’re going to do an additional thing with the comedy by playing this elimination game.
“The players who are able to successfully navigate their way through all the deception and who are able to eliminate the betrayer get to keep the prize,” he continues, “but if they’re not able to eliminate the betrayer then the betrayer takes the prize. It’s an opportunity for the cast to play a game on two levels: on one hand it’s the comedy, and on the other hand they’re actively trying to trick each other. So it’s like they’re playing a game show on top of a comedy show.”
Allen Morrison.
The Improv Centre’s fall programming features a new ensemble of performers. After an open-call audition process, TIC welcomed Ambika Vas, Caitlin Maira, Carly Pokoradi, Della Haddock, Jenny Rubé, Maddy Rafter, and Mark Savoie as new members of the cast.
Returning to The Improv Centre along with Morrison are artistic director Jalen Saip, Alan Pavlakovic, Alex Gullason, Alex Parra, Brad Rossington, Cameron Grant, Chris Casillan, Dan Willows, Drew Clarke, Ed Witzke, Emily Schoen, Helen Camisa, Meaghan Hommy, Jacki Gunn, Jeff Cooper, John Voth, Julia Church, Mary Saunders, Rachel Kent, Raf Rogers, Riley Hardwick, Stephanie Webster, and Will Vaughan.
Morrison says that there’s a bit of spookiness to Betrayers, given that it’s The Improv Centre’s fall offering, which continues its run around Halloween. With improv and in this case a reality-type show, he says he likes the fact that you never know where things are going to go.
“I love the thrill of the unknown,” Morrison says. “When I first began doing improv I was so nervous; I was kind of terrified. You get addicted to the adrenaline—and I still am addicted to that adrenaline, but I don’t have the nerves anymore, and that’s a good thing. I’m able to perform and think clearly. Adrenaline heightens the thinking. Good improvisors think less and trust their impulses more.
“It’s always been my favourite type of theatre anyway—that interactive, immersive theatre where you’re not just sitting there passively absorbing the art that you’re watching; it’s participatory,” he adds. “That’s the thing about improv shows: audiences do get to participate in whatever happens. Everyone has a bit of a stake in the outcome of the show. Here the cast is legitimately playing a game in real time in front of a crowd and we don’t know what the outcome is going to be.” 
Related Articles
