In 2025, Scary Strangers unleashed the biggest ITS Smackdown ever, producing and hosting the annual improv throwdown with a record-breaking 28 teams and 88 fearless performers, all building toward a Grand Final at the iconic Eternity Playhouse in Darlinghurst.

Across 5 epic heats, teams battled, riffed, and very bravely made things up on the spot for a shot at glory. In the end, The Same Girl emerged victorious, taking the crown in front of a sold-out, losing-its-mind theatre.

Grand Final Cast:
Good Scott, Great Charlotte; India Stuart & Jess Allen
Fever Dream; Jack Moran & Susan Kernot
Prov Actually; Adam Tiding, Matthew Fisher & Rachel Alexander
Squirm Gang; Felix Ryan, Jordan Warner, Roxanne van Zyl & Sam Downing
The BBs; Kate Ingram & Steph Merriman
The Same Girl; Allana Duncan, Maddie Dockrill, Steph Ryan & Sydney Pead
Hosted by: Scary Strangers

The Teacher’s Lounge

The second half cranked things up even further with The Teacher’s Lounge; a faculty showcase featuring Improv Theatre Sydney legends, which earned huge laughs, and deadly outcomes.

The Teacher’s Lounge Cast: Bridie Connell, Cale Bain, Chelsea Zeller, Clare Cavanagh, Hayden Wright, Jim Fishwick, Kat Hoyos, Kate Coates, Laura Hart, Maddie Parker, Ru Halwala & Tom Cardy
Hosted by: Rob Lawrenson & Tom North

ITS Smackdown ‘25

The Teacher’s Lounge

Lithgow Laugh Furnace ‘25