Put together the words ‘improvised’ and ‘comedy’ and the legendary TV show ‘Whose Line Is It Anyway?’ can’t help but spring to mind. It’s unfortunate, then, that Cambridge’s Improvised Comedy Ents (ICE) should have seen it appropriate to imitate the program wholesale in their show at the ADC on Tuesday night. Mimicry has its place in comedy if done judiciously, but the members of ICE were quite content to hitch their wagon to an already successful format without ever quite appreciating what made it truly funny in the first place. From the setup of the stage to the content of the rounds to performer Dan’s channeling of Ryan Stiles, there was nary a speck of originality to the show, and without the good cheer of the boisterous audience, ICE would have been frostbitten.

That’s not to say that the considerably talented performers didn’t earn raucous laughter from their well-pitched jokes and often excellent physical comedy. The round in which an audience suggestion saw Michael and Chris interviewed about Scientology (here’s the catch: they could only speak one word at a time) was hilarious, as the two described how they were introduced to the worship of sentient elk by Tom Baker and Jim Davidson. They succeeded because they seemed comfortable with one another, yet at other times the cast proved unable to act as an ensemble. Round six - ‘party quirks’ - was particularly sloppy, as Donna, Chris and Michael left Dan guessing their strange personalities for far too long. Dan’s exclamation: “Who do you think I am, Poirot?”, seemed a genuine expression of annoyance.

ICE’s woes were compounded by inadequate hosting. ‘Whose Line’ owed much of its success to Clive Anderson’s skill as a compere, which kept the audience laughing and the performers on their toes. The rounds in ‘Whose ICE’ far outlived their welcome, and would have benefited from a little more confidence on the part of host Theo, who seemed quite happy to let them peter out until the cast ran out of ideas and gave up. It was distressing to hear the levels of laughter peak and trough as the audience tired of each individual round, and a more tightly controlled performance would have been far better received.

From the exasperating number of Lord of the Rings references to Donna’s neglect by the other cast members, ICE’s production was flawed in other ways. Then again, by associating itself with the late, great, ‘Whose Line’, the show was doomed to disappoint its expectations from the start, and would have run farther without this initial shot to the foot. But ICE should not be disheartened. Their performance was saved by a receptive audience who were more than willing to laugh through the funny sections and chuckle politely through the weaker ones. Although derivative and unpolished in parts, ICE rode the wave of the goodwill of the stalls, and reciprocated with an entertaining evening of comedy.