I love a murder mystery. I’ve seen a fair few on stage, ‘The Mousetrap’, ‘And Then There Were None’, ‘Witness For the Prosecution’ and yes, I do call ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ a murder mystery. I am that person who delights in shows such as ‘Midsummer Murders'’, ‘Vera’ and I will admit to watching ‘Death in Paradise’ on repeat. Safe to say, I’m a fan, and that is what brought to a show that I saw last year at the Fringe ‘It’s a Mystery’, a celebration of all things Murder Mystery and why we love them, hosted by Tim Benzie. An hilarious hour exploring the genre as a giant game of Cluedo.
So, when the opportunity arose to see Benzie’s other show ‘Solve Along Murder She Wrote’ this year, I jumped up at it.
I’ve heard of ‘Murder She Wrote’ (who hasn’t?), starring the famous Angela Lansbury as mystery writer and amateur detective Jessica Fletcher, but I’ll admit to never really watching it. I’ve seen clips, but not much more than that. But it was my love for the genre and host Benzie that drew me to this show, as I was safe in the knowledge that it would be a thoroughly entertaining time as is wildly passionate about the topic of murder mysteries and with ‘Murder She Wrote’ being his favourite, this was going to be a lot of fun. And it was.
In a clever combination of digital media and interactive theatre, Benzie invites audience members to watch an episode of ‘Murder She Wrote’, in this case ‘Paint Me A Murder’ along with him as he creates a number of games to play along the way. ‘Murder She Wrote’ was famed for including a number of guest stars, and we were challenged to rank them on a ‘famometer’. Guest stars in this episode included Capucine, Steven Keats, Ron Moody, Christina Raines and Cesar Romero, with audiences have lots of different opinions on how to rank them. This game caused a lot of extra giggles for me for as a nineties baby, I was rather clueless about any of them with the exception of Ron Moody, but I enjoyed it all the same. Audience members were also given Jessica Fletcher themed panels to wave every time they spotted something suspicious in the show, which happened a lot and kept everyone laughing throughout.
Benzie is what makes this show such a great evening out. His passion for the show shines through as he dons a number of different Jessica Fletcher outfits, recreates the show’s iconic opening credits and even fills the time for his costume changes with adverts from the time when the episode was originally aired. He is a warm and wonderfully funny host, keeping everyone involved and adding to the television episode with a witty use of props and comments. He will make you laugh out loud and uses his knowledge of the genre to explain different elements of the show. He isn’t afraid to break the fourth wall, turning everything into a game much to the delight of the audience. And the lyrics he put together to accompany the ‘Murder She Wrote’ theme song will have you smiling all the way home.
‘Solve Along Murder She Wrote’ is a wonderfully entertaining funny way to spend an evening. You don’t need to be a massive fan of the TV show to enjoy yourself as Benzie explains everything without being patronising. If you like a good old fashioned murder mystery, and want something to raise a smile, then look no further.
Comments