The improvised whodunit and Edinburgh Festival Fringe regular, Murder, She Didn’t Write, is currently making its way around the country on a national tour. This cleverly comedic show sees improv group Degrees of Error perform an entirely improvised murder mystery each night.
The tour includes a foray into the West End at the Duchess Theatre. In the interactive show, the audience becomes the author as a classic Agatha Christie-inspired murder mystery is written live. With seven sell-out Fringe runs behind them, the cast use quick-witted humour to turn nonsensical story lines into a unique show every time.
With the tour underway, we caught up with director and performer Lizzy Skrzypiec to find out more.
Q&A with Lizzy Skrzypiec
What can you tell us about Murder, She Didn’t Write?
Murder, She Didn’t Write is a comedic improvised take on a classic Agatha Christie murder mystery. We make everything up on the spot and, with the help of a randomly chosen audience member, pick one member of the cast as a victim and one as the murderer. The audience then must guess who the murderer is before the detective solves the case. Each mystery is completely unique as we create it using suggestions from the audience for an event and vital clue.
How do you approach drafting a show like this which is so heavily improvised?
Well, we are very well practised. Much in the way that a sports person might train for their sport, we train for the show. Each show has a set of rules that we follow, and improv as an art form has rules too. It requires some funny improvisers with a good internal clock for timing and show pace. The magic is all in what we create in the moment. It has taken years though; our show has transformed, and we have created a lot of its core through trial and error. We have tested out elements that work at festivals and fringes until we got to the show we have now.
Is it daunting to step out on stage with the unknown element of the story ahead of you?
At first it was, yes. But the best thing about improv is you are not alone. We are all working together, doing our best to support each other on stage and make it look like our scene partner is a genius. I tend to find it quite liberating. Anything can happen. That’s a fun feeling! Lean into the chaos. Improv really does help you lose that core sense of embarrassment that can hinder the joy of taking risks on stage. I believe if you are acting with truth in your heart and a playful twinkle in your eye then the audience will be with you.
Have there been any standout moments during the shows previous runs?
One rather hauntingly gross but hilarious moment comes to mind. In our early gigs on this tour, we have started playing with sound effects and it has brought a new sense of fun to the show. Rob, our tech, is also an improviser and he has a toolbox of sound effects he can throw in at any moment. We were in Cardiff, and I happened to play an orange juice seller who drank at least three pints a day which had… er… some rather unfortunate digestive side effects, to put it politely. So, when the detective revealed I was the killer and I had used my explosive power to kill the victim, I didn’t expect Rob to throw in what I later learned was a 13-second-long sound effect which I had to continue miming on stage. It felt so much longer in the moment.
How does it feel to be touring the show, including the West End?
Well now you know what a serious show we are, it’s an absolute joy to be taking our humble show on tour and to be performing in the West End. We are in the same theatre as ‘The Play That Goes Wrong’ and it’s an honour to be in the same venue. Because we are making a different show every night, we really are just enjoying ourselves on stage. It’s incredibly tiring but so enjoyable, spending time with a group of people I am lucky enough to call my friends.
