REVIEW
Murder, She Didn't Write
Duchess Theatre (studio)
Lizzy Skrzypiec (director)
2 hours (including interview) (length)
29 March 2025 (released)
30 March 2025
It was Mr Green, a multilingual butler, who killed Mr Red, an overenthusiastic bus driver, in the Blue Castle kitchen by placing the ever-growing cucumber over his face to suffocate him. Obviously. But don’t worry, I haven’t given the plot away because the seriously talented cast of Murder, She Didn’t Write will improvise a new mystery on every stop of their UK tour until June 12th.
After nearly a decade of sold-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe, Degrees of Error will bring their improvisational masterpiece to a theatre near you. The only continuity between performances will be the set created by the marvellous Justin Williams and the colour-coded costumes that Lu Hubert and Charlotte Murray curated as a nod to the classic Cluedo characters.
The play starts with an introduction to our narrator Agatha Crusty, named after the queen of the genre and played at my performance by Lizzy Skrzypiec. As the director and co-founder of the Murder, She Didn’t Write format, Skrzypiec is quick on her feet as she takes suggestions for a setting and murder weapon from an excitable audience - filtering them as necessary. And she serves as a comforting presence as she watches the improv unfold alongside us from her green leather chair.
Skrzypiec ultimately acts as the glue of the story, interrupting to both guide the actors and make it all that much harder for them. Reminding Mr Blue that it is 1932, she asks if he can tell us about some of the events that have taken place in his castle with historical accuracy. Mr Green, who comes onstage with a French accent, is then informed by Skrzypiec that he can speak Spanish, German and, of course, Latin. And while the school teacher Miss Violet is reading out her worksheet for the children, she gleefully reminds her that it was written entirely in rhyme.
It is in the final minutes, however, that Skrzypiec truly steals the show as she expertly threads together the story to reveal just how the victim was murdered and by whom. While the entire cast is impressive, the show would simply not function without Skrzypiec.
Although there were some issues with the sound at the performance I attended, this has to be forgiven as the cast and crew take to the stage at a new venue almost every night.
And Charlotte Berman from the latest season of the BBC's Traitors was having a whale of a time in the audience behind me. If it’s good enough for the woman that faked a Welsh accent and banished people from a Scottish castle for weeks on national television all while Claudia Winkleman was watching from behind her fringe, it's good enough for me.
So if you are looking for a hilariously fresh take on a murder mystery that you can enjoy again, and again, and again, look no further than Murder, She Didn’t Write.
After nearly a decade of sold-out runs at the Edinburgh Fringe, Degrees of Error will bring their improvisational masterpiece to a theatre near you. The only continuity between performances will be the set created by the marvellous Justin Williams and the colour-coded costumes that Lu Hubert and Charlotte Murray curated as a nod to the classic Cluedo characters.
The play starts with an introduction to our narrator Agatha Crusty, named after the queen of the genre and played at my performance by Lizzy Skrzypiec. As the director and co-founder of the Murder, She Didn’t Write format, Skrzypiec is quick on her feet as she takes suggestions for a setting and murder weapon from an excitable audience - filtering them as necessary. And she serves as a comforting presence as she watches the improv unfold alongside us from her green leather chair.
Skrzypiec ultimately acts as the glue of the story, interrupting to both guide the actors and make it all that much harder for them. Reminding Mr Blue that it is 1932, she asks if he can tell us about some of the events that have taken place in his castle with historical accuracy. Mr Green, who comes onstage with a French accent, is then informed by Skrzypiec that he can speak Spanish, German and, of course, Latin. And while the school teacher Miss Violet is reading out her worksheet for the children, she gleefully reminds her that it was written entirely in rhyme.
It is in the final minutes, however, that Skrzypiec truly steals the show as she expertly threads together the story to reveal just how the victim was murdered and by whom. While the entire cast is impressive, the show would simply not function without Skrzypiec.
Although there were some issues with the sound at the performance I attended, this has to be forgiven as the cast and crew take to the stage at a new venue almost every night.
And Charlotte Berman from the latest season of the BBC's Traitors was having a whale of a time in the audience behind me. If it’s good enough for the woman that faked a Welsh accent and banished people from a Scottish castle for weeks on national television all while Claudia Winkleman was watching from behind her fringe, it's good enough for me.
So if you are looking for a hilariously fresh take on a murder mystery that you can enjoy again, and again, and again, look no further than Murder, She Didn’t Write.
