AN IMPROVISED WHODUNNIT WITH CHEESE, CHICKEN, AND CHAOS

By Tanya Howard | Founder, The Live Review London · @glamglitzlondon ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Press Invite

You know a show’s not taking itself too seriously when the detective’s name is Agatha Crusty and she throws her hat into the crowd to pick an assistant. Said assistant, Jerkins, then gets to decide the murder location and weapon, guided by the audience shouting increasingly absurd suggestions. Murder, She Didn’t Write is giving pantomime with a death wish. Ours? A cheese tasting and an oily rubber chicken. Naturally.

Murder, She Didn’t Write is one of those shows where you sit there wondering how much is genuinely off the cuff and how much is secretly structured to let them steer things when it gets too rogue. But to be fair, they handled chaos well. A couple of curveball moments had them cracking up, whether it was genuine surprise or just ridiculously good acting, it only added to the fun. That’s the charm of improv though, isn’t it?

It did take a little while to get to the actual murder, which I found mildly frustrating. If you’re promising murder mystery, I want blood (metaphorically, obviously). It eventually came, off-stage, mind you, which felt a bit of a cop out. But they came back with a bang (or should I say, bum) in the second half. IYKYK! Jerkins picked both the victim and murderer from the characters, meaning even the cast didn’t know who was who in advance. It’s a clever trick, and they pulled it off well, though the ending dragged just a touch.

Still, credit where it’s due: I laughed out loud several times and even snorted once, rare. The cast was sharp, quick on their feet, and clearly having a great time with it. They kept the chaos just about on track, pulled the audience in without making us work too hard. They delivered some properly silly, properly clever moments along the way.

Definitely a fun one if you’re after an evening that doesn’t take itself too seriously. It’s currently on a UK tour, with three more London dates at The Duchess Theatre. Definitely one to catch whether you’ve been before or not. The cleverness of the improv is you get an entirely different show every time, so maybe round two will be a murder on stage… fingers crossed.

Murder, She Didn’t Write will run at The Duchess Theatre on Monday 21 July, Monday 29 September, and Monday 24 November.

WEBSITE

⭐⭐⭐⭐

Photo Credit: Pamela Raith Photography