Murder She Didn’t Write, Assembly George Review
When the narrator of Murder She Didn't Write asked the audience who had seen the show before, the applause was resounding. I'd gone in mildly tentative about how good an improvised murder mystery could actually be, but the sheer number of repeat offenders in the room was my first clue that I was in for a treat.
The brainchild of improv troupe Degrees of Error, Murder She Didn’t Write has a delightfully Cluedo-esque setup: an audience member, who is selected by way of a flat cap tossed into the audience, chooses the murderer and victim from a set of coloured cards, while the rest of us shout out suggestions for murder weapons and settings. Unsurprisingly, the plot that results is completely absurd. On this particular afternoon, a former rodeo star was murdered in her own home with a pogo stick that played Cher's 'Believe' every time it went up and down. Agatha Christie could never.
Were there a few minor plot holes? Yes. Did every joke land? No. But the funny far outweighed the not-funny, and given that the entire thing is conjured on the spot, all is easily forgiven.
The cast are side-splittingly funny across the board, but two performances had me nearly in tears. Peter Baker's narrator, detective Hugh Doneit, kept the audience engaged and interacting throughout, and had an unerring instinct for finding the silliest possible thing to inflict upon his castmates. Monica Gaga's Viola Violet, the self-proclaimed inventor of cleaning, had the room in fits with an escalating series of cleaning-related bits, including a valiant attempt to sweep up important clues. Honourable mentions go to Marigold Gold, briefly possessed by the spirit of another character's dead mother, who sounded suspiciously like Jennifer Coolidge, and Brenda Blue, who knew absolutely nothing about the state of Colorado she supposedly hailed from.
Chaotic, quick-witted, and criminally good fun, Murder She Didn't Write is proof that some of the best mysteries are the ones nobody saw coming, including the cast.
Murder She Didn’t Write is playing everyday at the Gordon Aikman Theatre at Assembly George Square at 2:15pm until the 31th of August.
★★★★
Written by Ellora for Theatre and Tonic, August 2026.
