Improv Asylum
About
Improv Asylum is a comedy theater in Boston’s North End staging improv and sketch shows six days a week. Its signature Main Stage show, described as Whose Line Is It Anyway? meets Saturday Night Live, has a cast turning audience suggestions into scenes, songs and stories with no script, so no two performances are alike. Audience members can choose an option to be pulled into the show or one guaranteeing they will be left alone.
The theater began in 1997 at the old Hard Rock Cafe on Clarendon Street and has been running for more than 25 years. Beyond the main show, it stages seasonal revues such as a Halloween show, weekly House Teams nights featuring training center students and graduates, and a separate Theater of Magic. Its training center offers improv classes for beginners and professional actors, plus weekend workshops for adults, kids and teens, and the company performs private shows and corporate training at its venue or on the road.
What to Know
- The theater is a short walk from Faneuil Hall and near tour bus parking on Surface Street.
- There is no drink minimum, and the venue is smoke-free.
- Dinner-and-show packages are available with nearby North End restaurant Aqua Pazza.
- The Main Stage show has been voted Boston’s Best Comedy.
- The Theater of Magic won a 2025 Tripadvisor Travelers’ Choice Award.
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