Born on the 27th October 1985 at the old Leicester Square venue, the founding members of the Comedy Store Players (Kit Hollerbach, Dave Cohen, Neil Mullarkey, Paul Merton and Mike Myers) were only allowed to do the second half of the show, with the management feeling the audience would have to be lured by a first half of stand up to see a show where there was no script.

Now found today at the Comedy Store near Piccadilly Circus, the Players are still improvising to packed houses every Sunday.

The Guinness World Records officially confirmed the show as the world’s longest-running comedy show with the same cast, the Comedy Store Players are Josie Lawrence, Paul Merton, Neil Mullarkey, Lee Simpson, Andy Smart and Richard Vranch.

It’s been quite a journey. Read the full story here.

Comedy Store Players: A supportive crowd wills on six brave performers who arrive with no script and not the faintest idea of what will happen. Through improvisation they create whole sketches and comic dramas that are amazingly inventive and sometimes take off into flights of surreal brilliance. Whose Line Is it Anyway is a pale TV imitation. Daily Telegraph

The best ad-lib ensemble in the UK. London Evening Standard

The troupe more than lives up to its hallowed reputation…the livewire skill underpinning all that wanton spontaneity quite takes your breath away. Dominic Cavendish, Daily Telegraph

A bottomless supply of surreal sketches, dramatic vignettes and almost tuneful operettas… a must for anyone with a pulse and a sense of humour! bbc.co.uk

Witty, silly, satirical, occasionally ludicrous, ultimately crowd-pleasing. skyarts.co.uk