by Adrian Miller
Murder Village ~ An Improvised Whodunnit re-creates the world of Agatha Christie with the audience deciding the victim and the culprit each night! The Clothesline contacted director/producer David Massingham and began by asking him what he thought people will enjoy most about Murder Village?
“For comedy lovers who love whodunnits like Knives Out, Hercule Poirot and Midsomer Murders, Murder Village is a chance to step into that world and become an amateur sleuth for an evening. The plot is improvised, with the show designed to give each audience a lot of say in how the mystery will play out – by voting for the night’s victim and killer, and by suggesting what the murder weapon and the tell-tale clue will be – while still keeping the results of that ballot secret so that there’s still all the fun of trying to solve the crime and piece together the mystery.”
This show seems to be very popular interstate. Are you bringing the same cast to Adelaide?
“We are – but we are teaming them up with a couple of Adelaide’s finest improvisers as well! We’re thrilled to have SA’s Jarrad Parker-Smith playing a suspect in a few shows, as well as Emil Tow providing mood music for our first three nights. Every good whodunnit needs an atmospheric score and plenty of DUN DUN DAAAAHs!
“The rest of the cast will be made up of members from our regular Melbourne ensemble. They include some of the top improvising talent in the country, such as Rik Brown (Magic Mike Live) and Jason Geary (Thank God You’re Here, Utopia).”
Although you state this is an Agatha Christie-styled show you don’t actually include any of her known characters?
“No – it’s just a very similar vibe! Our detective, played by Lliam Amor (Escape from Pretoria), isn’t Belgian like Poirot. He’s French. VERY distinct. Our suspects are all orginals, though you may recognise some character archetypes that often turn up in Miss Marple mysteries and the like.”
Is the show completely improvised each night, or are there some parts of it that are regularly included?”
The plot, the murder, the relationships between the characters… that’s all improvised! We come up with our characters ahead of time, so that we can get the costume right and give the audience advance knowledge of who they will be voting for, but once a Murder Village resident has been murdered in a show, that’s it – they’re straight to the graveyard to rest in peace.”
Do your actors play the same characters each night, or is that part of the improvisation?
“Each show sees a new set of suspects thrown into the mix – that’s how we keep the show fresh and unique! New relationships, new storylines, new shows. We are bringing 28 characters to Adelaide for this season, but sadly seven of them won’t be making it out alive…”
Is the show suitable for all ages?
“We always say that it is suitable for ages 12 years and up. If the parents are happy for their child to watch an episode of Midsomer Murders, you can expect a similar level of drama and darkness in a Murder Village whodunnit… though with a lot more laughs mixed in!”
Is there anything you wish to add to encourage people to come along to see Murder Village?
“Every one of our mysteries is different, so whether you want to see one whodunnit or all seven, you’ll find a unique crime to solve at a Murder Village show.”
Murder Village – An Improvised Whodunnit performs at Dom Polski Jeden at Dom Polski from 7.30pm from Mon 4 Mar until Sun 10 Mar.
Book at FringeTIX and adelaidefringe.com.au. Click HERE to purchase your tickets.
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