REVIEW: Murder, She Didn’t Write by Degrees Of Error at The Royal Theatre, Northampton

No two nights are ever the same when the marvellous cast of the improvised whodunnit Murder, She Didn’t Write take to the stage.

Neither they, nor the audience, know quite what the evening will bring as the plot, characters, victim and killer are made up by the team from Degrees of Error on each and every night.

But one thing is for certain, you will laugh out loud at the quick-thinking wit, word play and physical comedy that the talented ensemble conjures up.

There isn’t a huge amount of point in me going through the plot and characters that they developed on their feet during the first night of their residency in Northampton, because the rest of the shows here, and everywhere, will be completely different.

But what is clearly the same every night is the passion with which the talented and enthusiastic cast perform as they try to make both the audience and their fellow performers laugh.

Those in the know say that a successful theatre show combines several key elements, including strong storytelling, captivating performances, engaging set and costume design, and effective use of lighting and sound. The audience's connection to the story and characters, and the overall atmosphere of the performance, also play a significant role.

All of the above are present in Murder, She Didn’t Write.

Degrees of Error director and cast super sleuth Lizzy Skrzypiec gets the audience to set up the premise of the show and holds it together with some testing prompts for the cast.

Putting together a murder mystery based on the suggestions of an audience can be a perilous task, and stringing together a two-hour show about a murder committed by a pointy pet rock at a cushion convention in 1920s Kettering (as was the case when I attended) would stretch most performers!

As such there can’t be any weak links in ensemble pieces, and there are certainly none in Murder, She Didn’t Write.

There is a rotating cast, but those on stage when I attended were uniformly superb.

Hats off to super soft Rachael Proctor-Lane, bendy Peter Baker, innovative Douglas Walker, seductive Sylvia Bishop and wounded Stephen Clements.

The biggest compliment I can pay to Sara Garrard’s unobtrusive live piano soundtrack to the on stage action is that after a while you barely noticed that her subtle but essential accompaniment to the on stage action was even there.

Murder, She Didn’t Write has been an Edinburgh Fringe Festival favourite for many years, and a trip to the Royal will show you why.

Don’t miss this cleverly comedic improvised show. It is great fun.

Murder, She Didn’t Write is at The Royal Theatre in Northampton from 7.30pm daily until Thursday, April 17.

There is also a matinee at 2.30pm on Wednesday (April 16).

Tickets, priced from £22 to £30, are available from www.royalandderngate.co.uk

Age guidance: 12+