Locomotive for Murder: The Improvised Whodunnit is an improvised murder mystery where the audience help the detective Jane Marbles (Lottie Davies) solve the case. The characters are created using audience suggestions, they decide who will be the victim and only the murderer knows it is them who committed the crime – everyone else is left in the dark until the final moments. 

Due to the improvisational nature of this show, each one is different, and I wish I could fit in more trips to see how it all plays out as this was a wonderful experience which is set in the 1920’s aboard a train set for a destination decided by the audience. The characters names and some character traits have also been taken from audience suggestions – we had Mrs Ann Tique (Emma Lowther)– a family antiques dealer/trained assassin, Mr Chip Anddale (David Fenne) – a town Mayor and hobby carpenter, Mrs Ham Mock (Will Beynon) – an elderly grandma with a penchant for hammocks and Mr Geo-Locator (Eoin McAndrew) -an explorer in search of treasures worth £70. 

The first 30 minutes of the show are mainly used for the set up, getting the audience on board, forming the characters and then…a murder happens! The audience vote on who shall die and thus the mystery begins. There are 3 tickets handed to the remaining characters and one learns they are the guilty party. The rest of the show is spent on interrogations and looking at motives. This is where the actors are given a chance to truly shine.

Every member of this cast shows incredible improvisation skills with quick thinking, sharp wit and clever use of costumes. They never miss a thing, using all suggestions that are thrown at them and building from there to create the story we see before us. From curling competitions, secret siblings and hidden love affairs, the scenes are enthralling to watch, all full of comedy as the actors use the small titbits from the audience as the basis for their interactions. It is then up to the audience to decide who they think the killer is based on the clues they have seen – this is where we see the true test of the actors skills and find out if the guilty party gave themselves away or were they deceptive enough to fool a room full of people? On this occasion the audience were super sleuths and correctly identified the murderer – but we learn this is not always the case! 

For any fans of a murder mystery or improv comedy, this is the perfect show for you. It’s exciting, clever and hilarious fun! There is no other show like this, it’s a totally unique murder mystery experience and one worth seeing if you can! 

This show was reviewed on the 22nd August 2024 at Gilded Balloon Patter House, Edinburgh where it runs until the 26th August 2024.  Tickets here: Locomotive for Murder: The Improvised Whodunnit | Comedy | Edinburgh Festival Fringe (edfringe.com)

Review written by Rosie Browne

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