Murder She Didn't Write - Assembly Gordan Aikman Theatre - Review

With a little bit of this, and a little bit of that, through several variations, improv could quite possibly be one of the most said and most heard words in the entire Edinburgh Fringe, especially in the flyering zones, but it remains one of the most popular genres out of everything that is on offer. Improv done well can see tickets flying out the door, and if you are lucky enough to have a ticket to see Murder She Didn't write by Degrees of Error burning a hole in your pocket, you're about to see improv done very very well indeed.

A firm fringe favourite that sees sell out audiences, devoted fans that return time and time again, and regular West end dates at the Duchess Theatre, Murder She Didn't Write is an entirely improvised whodunnit based on audience suggestions and the random selection of cards to choose both the killer and the victim. The cast are shown the cards picking out who die and who will kill, but that is kept secret from the audience leading us to become detectives ourselves, all a part of the fun. Fronted by detective Agatha Crustie (at this performance Lizzy Skrzypiec), the cast of improvisers piece together a bonkers, highly hilarious murder mystery where literally anything could happen, based solely on the ideas of an item and a location from the audience. Donning coloured outfits akin to Cluedo, the cast introduce us to crazy characters, many of which have even crazier backstories, habits and potential motives.

At this performance it was the case of the perfectly ordinary clay pipe at the Master Chef finals (in the 1930s). A recipe for hilarity precisely. Rachael Proctor-Lane (Yellow), Peter Baker (Green), Harry Allmark (Blue), Stephen Clements (Purple) and Emile Clarke (Red) were up to the challenge of creating a twisting, turning whodunnit featuring a lot of jelly and eggs, a judge who couldn't touch the food with anything other than her mouth and a worker in the deconstruction field with an obsession with destroying as much as possible.

It's difficult to describe exactly the chaos that unfolded, but the audience were laughing from start to finish, with the cast also dissolving into giggles throughout, all heightening the enjoyment for the audience. Whilst the entire thing is made up, a skill in itself for the talented cast, they also most cleverly find several opportunities throughout to mess with each and set others up. Skrzpiec's detective has the chance to regularly stop the action, cause a flashback, and throw in ideas, such as requesting that both Proctor-Lane and Baker needed songs to accompany their characters actions, and who knew a song only needed the word egg to work, Baker styled it out. He got his playful payback, playing a Russian chef and quickly stating that the detective could speak the language fluently. Another highlight included Harry Allmark's chef character Barry Blue running in shouting that he had a secret that needed to be shared only to find that no one else was on stage, a moment that even had the improvising pianist in fits of giggles.

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Murder She Didn't Write is one of those shows that I return to every year at the fringe (and I would love to catch it in London one day to see the chaos that unfolds through a two act version). Being completely improvised, you are guaranteed to see an entirely new show every time, and with this rotating cast being so skilled in masterfully crafting a unique brand of whodunnit madness, you are sure to laugh until your sides hurt.