With a billing as an interactive murder mystery with chocolate tasting, the crowds were queuing up at Zoo Southside. It feels exciting: we’re all given a pen, booklet to collect clues in and a lanyard to identify us as trainee detectives. After a short briefing we are left to our own devices. With suspects dotted around the Cabaret Bar, the contents of their bags and pockets available for searching, the audience get down to questioning and sifting the evidence.
The suspects vary in their willingness to interact. Some, like Huw, are in your face, shouting, arguing and being aggressive towards the trainee detectives. Other cast members are much more quiet, and have to drawn out. The audience is much the same: some get right into the questioning role; while others sat quietly on the fringes. In part this is where a potential problem with the production lies: an interactive show relies as much on the audience as the cast. This show was developed in Australia, and I have a feeling that Aussie audiences are probably less reticent than those in Scotland.
The concept is excellent. If you’ve ever enjoyed one of those out of the box murder mystery games, if you love Agatha Christie, and bring along your extrovert friends to help with the questioning you’ll get right into it. However, despite the strong idea and winning formula of supplying us with delicious chocolate from James of Arran, the event doesn’t quite gel for me. I could have done with more of a prologue, for example with the cast introducing themselves and their backgrounds, or acting an opening scene. The setting also doesn’t feel quite right. As the murder has taken place at an upmarket singles night, I would have preferred the lighting subdued, and the chocolate presented more luxuriously.
The puzzle created is genuinely difficult, and while that’s understandable (it does have to run for three weeks after all), I noticed that many in the audience were frustrated by the lack of conclusion. It ends with us being given a business card with a web address at which to share our own theories, and eventually to receive the solution. Personally, I can’t wait to find out who dunnit, but felt that the process could have been made a little easier.
Up for it audiences will enjoy the journey, but would recommend this more for groups of fans of the detective genre than single chocoholics (in a turn around of the show’s singles night premise).
[Kathryn Mack]
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