★★★★
Stopping in London on their UK tour, the cast of Murder She Didn’t Write delivered yet another whirlwind night of improvised mystery that no pre-prepared script could hope to match. In this imaginative and witty performance, the audience writes the script. This time, that meant witnessing the wild unfolding of the case of The Orange Wooden Leg.
The evening began with a delightfully unconventional detective named Agatha Cursty (Lizzy Skrzypiec), who immediately broke the fourth wall to assure the audience that everything they were about to see would be entirely improvised. With a healthy dose of charm and playful audacity, Agatha enlisted a willing audience member, dubbed “Jerkings”, to help shape the night’s story. Through spontaneous suggestions and shoutouts, the framework of the plot began to emerge, featuring elements such as a Titanic support group, an orange wooden leg, and the quaint town of Bradford. These seemingly random notes from the audience quickly became running jokes throughout the performance.
As the story took form, Graham (Stephen Clements) and his wife Mildred (Rachael Procter-Lane) embarked on a journey to Bradford for his mother’s funeral. They were set to stay at the town’s only hotel, the site of the night’s central murder, where an orange wooden leg belonging to the deceased served as the murder clue.
Adding to the narrative, the hotel soon welcomed a host of eccentric visitors, including Graham’s former lover Petunia (Sylvia Bishop) and her husband, an ex-horse racing jockey (Peter Baker), as well as an Irishman named Jack, humorously depicted as a Titanic survivor mourning the loss of his girlfriend, Rose.
If the golden rule of improv is to accept what your partner offers and build upon it, this was exemplified by this cast in its most masterful form. Each performer demonstrated a remarkable ability to listen, respond, and escalate situations that they had been put in, bouncing off one another with intelligence. Their improvisation often referenced earlier moments in the performance, creating a surprisingly coherent narrative despite the entirely spontaneous nature of the storyline. This level of recall is a testament to the cast’s skill and synergy as a team.
When presented with an absurd or unconventional suggestion from the audience, the cast took it and ran with it, transforming spontaneous ideas into an entertaining visual. A particularly memorable highlight of the evening was a completely improvised song about wellies. What might have sounded absurd on paper came to life as the cast crafted lyrics and melody on the spot, drawing roaring laughter from the audience. The improvisation also extended beyond the actors themselves. Technical elements, such as sound and lighting cues, were adapted in real time, responding to the unfolding scenes and enhancing the overall experience, a feat that is far from easy.
Although the second half of the performance occasionally felt rushed, the play still managed to deliver a satisfying conclusion. For a show that is never the same twice, audience members left having witnessed a plausible resolution to the murder of the night. Every essential element of a story was present: an introduction to the characters, a main story (albeit unpredictable), and a decisive ending. Despite being entirely improvised, the cast delivered a performance with all its structural parts intact, punctuated with plenty of laughs along the way, which was very impressive to watch.
Murder She Didn’t Write is touring around the UK until November 2026.
Words by Deborah Adelodun
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